A Bigger Universe
by Lost Lu
Summary: This will be an ongoing series of one-shots and shorts set in the MCU. These will include -both current and future- characters from the movies & Netflix shows. Genres and rating will change depending on what stories and which characters I write about next. So far this is very heavy with Spider-Man centered stories. (Awesome cover art is not mine)
1. Great Opportunity

**Synopsis: AU in which Spider-Man has been swinging around NY, saving people, and webbing up criminals for a short while. He has gotten to know and work with all the other street level heroes while the Avengers are off dealing with bigger, more global threats. Then suddenly an offer is made to him. A friend of his calls him over for lunch to have an important talk regarding this offer.**

**A/N: This cheesy little one-shot is packed with references and written in the first person for 99.9% of it (1 line is in third-person at the end). Got this idea right after finishing Netflix's phenomenal Daredevil series. No major spoilers though. **

**Disclaimer: I own none if these beloved Marvel characters.**

* * *

_**:Great Opportunity:**_

Yet another cloudy day this fine afternoon in Manhattan, and it's Saturday! No school for good ol' Peter Parker. I swing in between the buildings as per usual; a bounce off the window here, a triple flip there, and a free fall whenever I get high enough. I love those. It's the closest feeling I get to flying.

Anyways, I got a call from my colleague; said he wanted to meet me for lunch. We're becoming really close friends. We kinda have to, because we're always running into each other and the dude can sense just about every little thing about me, even when I'm wearing day's old underwear. Plus, he's got a cool red costume. Not as cool as mine but still, team reds gotta stick together. Actually, he's rockin' the body armor. I should get body armor…nah, don't need it. Bullets never even graze me thanks to my spidey-sense and all.

Whew! Made it to the construction site, I'm starving. As I leap and zip up in between the metal jungle gym I quickly realize the place is vacant. Day off. Huh, no wonder my buddy chose this spot to chill. Speaking of which…

"Hey there you handsome little devil."

The man without fear sits on a steel beam about a good 500 feet above ground. He's in full costume, having himself a nice burrito. I land on my two feet right next to him.

"Hello, Peter." He said nonchalantly.

Did he just?

"Dude! Superhero Bro-code remember? No blurting out my secret identity."

"No one can hear us up here."

"Oh yeah, how do you know?"

"…" He gave me a blank stare.

Then I remembered all his heightened senses. He could tell if someone was close long before my spider-sense would go off. Also…we're way the hell up here!

"Oh…right. Heh hehh," I chuckled embarrassingly.

He reaches into a brown paper bag by his side. "I got you something."

Nice! He handed me a warm burger. I read the logo as I do away with the silver wrapping, realizing this was too nice of a gesture. "A double from my favorite burger joint…we're gonna have a talk aren't we?"

"Have a seat."

I did so, swinging my dangling feet off the edge. I pulled my mask up over my nose, exposing my mouth to take a big bit out of the juicy, American broiled treasure. Ah, the melted cheese and sauce get me every time. Whatever serious talk we were about to have, it was worth it.

"Papa Cage couldn't make it for this lecture?"

He finished up his protein burrito. "No, he's currently enjoying some quality time with Jessica."

"Ah those two crazy kids. They're so cute together. You know I always said-"

"Why haven't you accepted the offer?"

He knew I was stalling. With these skills, why doesn't he win more cases? Naturally I still tried to dance around the subject.

"Mm? Why so positive that I haven't?" I took another bite. Taste buds have never been happier.

My buddy looks forward at the cityscape. "Because you've kept yourself extremely occupied as of late, as if you're avoiding something. You've even gone poking your nose into Hell's Kitchen."

He wasn't wrong. Man, he's good!

"I thought you enjoyed our pow wow team-ups?"

"I do. But I also want what's best for you."

"Really dad?" I sparked in a kiddy voice.

"I'm being serious, Peter."

Alright…he's not gonna let up, I might as well be honest. He can tell when I'm lying. Halfway done with my lunch, I set it down on my lap.

"Okay, look, I just don't know about it yet. I don't wanna rush into things."

"But they see something in you."

"Probably just my powers." I fiddle around with the crinkled wrapping.

"It's not just that. There are more and more gifted individuals popping up around New York these days. Yet they want to recruit you."

That's true: Me, Matt, Cage, Jessica, Danny, and who knows how many others are out there with powers. But the superheroes who offered me the chance of a lifetime; the ultimate team; the first ones who kicked it all off. They're just way out of my league. How do I explain that to Matt?

"I'm just a kid from Queens."

"Rogers was just a kid from Brooklyn."

"I'm not Captain America." I begin to shoot out excuses. "Besides, there's still so much to do here. Crime on the streets hasn't gone away as much as we'd like it to. And Kingpin's out of prison. Ugh, we almost had him!" I slammed my fist into my palm.

Matt remained rather calm despite his intense history with the tubby, crime lord. He always knows how to keep his cool.

"Fisk will unfortunately still be here. He'll fall soon enough. But offers like yours go just as quickly as they come."

I pick up my burger and chomp down. I make sure to chew slowly. But there's no prolonging this. "They're all grownups, Earth's Mightiest Heroes, skilled, experienced. I haven't been doing this for very long." I wipe my mouth clean.

"No, yet even at your young age you've handled yourself better than the rest of us, and have managed to make this city a better place. Despite what the Bugle says, you've quickly become a symbol of hope, a symbol I could never be. Children even cheer your name. They look up to you, Peter."

His words speak to me, but I clearly don't have the same faith in myself that he does.

"I don't know, Matt…I mean before I got bit, I was a little kid too and I looked up to those guys. I loved learning about the ultimate underdog, Steve Rogers, in history class. Wishing I could, one day, invent something awesome like Tony Stark did. They're the reason I got the guts to put on a suit in the first place. And then I kept doing it because…"

"Because with great power…"

He remembered…he remembered what I told him that one time we were working a big case together. The quote that defines me…uncle Ben's last words.

"Yeah…"

He faces my general direction. "Wise words…your uncle was a good man."

"He was…"

I still miss him. Again, I haven't been doing this for too long so I still recall everything. I'll never forget, and I'll never forget his words. And I'll sure as hell never let anything like that happen again. I had the power but I did nothing, and uncle Ben paid the price. Now I'll always take responsibility. Wait…am I…in some way doing 'nothing' again by not joining?

"Peter…" He goes on in the most sincere voice. "People like us, who've lost so very much…loved ones. We rarely get a chance to make things right or to even prove ourselves."

We've both lost loved ones. His dad…his dad was all he had, and he felt responsible too. But he was left all alone. At least I had my Aunt and Uncle. Boy, does law school Murdock know just what to say to get me really thinking. He never talks down to me either. His calm tone; the way he articulates; he speaks to me with genuine understanding. He speaks to me like a…friend.

"So you're pretty much saying I should take the offer."

"I'm saying…you have saved countless lives, and you'll save countless more. But now you have a great opportunity to save the world; perhaps even the whole universe."

"Yeah, no, that's not intimidating, like at all."

"It is very intimidating, but you can take it. I know you can. And you know it too. Again, even at such a young age, compared to the rest of us, you were always far more-"

I couldn't help been finish with a conceited little remark. "Amazing?"

Hah! I made him crack a small smile. "Yes, but fighting alongside the likes of the Avengers; they can train you, guide you, be the mentors you need to grow up and become something…" He looks over to the city. "_Spectacular_."

So glad he can't see the goofy smile across my face. "The Spectacular Spider-man? I like the sound of that."

"Don't let it get to your head."

He's right. He's just absolutely right. I'm hesitant because I'm scared. But I can't let fear dictate my life decisions. If I do this…I can be the best I can ever be. I can make uncle Ben proud. No more being a pansy. Time to take a cue from the Daredevil himself.

I pull my mask down and stand up tall, looking over the city. Way off in the distance, I see Avengers Tower. I see my future. "…looks like I'm gonna be the freshman all over again."

"Aren't you already a freshman?"

After I've finally made my decision, he felt my mood lighten up and makes a joke. He actually made a joke. I place my hands on my hips and lean in with sass. "Ahem, I'm a sophomore, thank you very much."

He chuckled. "I'm proud of you, Peter. We all are."

"Even Cage?"

"Yes," He chuckled again, "even Cage." He nodded with a smile.

Cage is always hard on me and making fun of my tights, but I guess it's only because he cares.

"Aww, I guess I better fess up and tell him I was to one who borrowed his sweet ride when he was tearin' through Harlem looking for it."

"You stole his car?"

"Don't you have super hearing? I clearly said 'borrowed'."

"Why would you do such a reckless thing?"

"There was this redhead I was trying to impress."

"_Teenagers_," He scoffed, shaking his head amusingly.

"Well I highly advise against your confession. There are some things you don't have to take responsibility for; especially when it comes to Luke Cage."

I give him a little salute, not that he could see it. Or maybe he can, I don't know. For someone who's blind, he can see better than most. "Good call, mister attorney. And um…" I think about everything he said. If it wasn't for him calling me up here for this talk, I'd probably still be on the fence about this. I couldn't get rid of this goofy smile of gratitude off my face. And the way he was smiling back, I'm assuming he could tell. "Thanks."

"Happy to help."

After the touching Hallmark moment, I scan for the nearest tall building.

"I'll be sure to swing by every now and then."

"I'm certain you will." He grinned.

I wrap up the burger he got for me and web it to my thigh. I'll finish this baby later. I extend my arms and fall, welcoming the windy rush. When close enough, I shoot out a line of webbing to the closest tall building and swoosh across at incredible speed.

"Woo!"

I keep swinging through the city, blocks away from the construction site.

Daredevil smiles proudly as the young, red and blue hero ventures off into the next chapter of his life. "Good luck, Spider-man."

I swoop low enough across an open electronics shop that was blasting a chill remix of 'Coming Home'. How fitting.

I sing along being the dork that I am. "_I know my kingdom awaits, and they've forgiven my mistakes. I'm comin' home, I'm comin' home, tell the world I'm comin'!_"

That beautiful song keeps playing in my head as I make my way over to the Avengers.

_**~End~**_


	2. New Recruit

**DISCLAIMER: Potential spoiler for "Avengers: Age of Ultron"**

**Synopsis: Continued AU after "_Great Responsibility_" in which Spidey finally goes to join the Avengers. Things have changed though. Now it is the New Avengers at a new location with an ever expanding universe, and Spider-Man must first prove himself.  
New Avengers consist of Cap, Widow, Falcon, Vision, Scarlet Witch, and War Machine. Set after the events of Age of Ultron.**

**A/N: So this turned out to be a 2-part One-Shot. I just had to get this fun little thing out there. Unless another related idea comes to me, this will be it. I'm undecided as to what I'll write next for this series, but I got a few ideas. Regardless, this is written in the third-person &amp; hope you enjoy.**

* * *

_**:New Recruit:**_

It is a breezy afternoon at the New Avenges HQ. Steve and Natasha stand in front of the clear window for a wall, looking over some plans on a tablet. Suddenly, something smacks onto the window.

"Hey Romanogers!" The Spectacular Spider-Man planted himself right onto the glass.

"This kid again." Widow crossed her arms.

"I've come to sign on the dotted line! Also…your windows could use a little wiping."

* * *

The young hero in red and blue walks along with the two founding Avengers up on a curved pathway on the roof.

Steve has his hands on the belt buckle of his uniform. "So you finally accepted the offer."

"Better late than never, you procrastinator." Romanoff chimed in with a smirk.

Spidey chuckles. "Yeah, I swung by the tower, but Stark told me things have changed."

"They have…a lot." Steve stated somberly.

"Well, he gave me my golden ticket and sent me over here." Peter pulls out his laminated card and shows them his very own Avengers pass that Stark made for him. Widow nods at how legit his superhero I.D. looks and turns to Cap.

"I'm the new avenger."

Rogers smiles down at him. "I'll be the judge of that."

* * *

The New Avengers step into a dark room with their new recruit.

"What is this?" Peter asked. There was an echo that accompanied his voice.

Rows of lights flash on, revealing a large metal enforced atrium.

He utters in awe. "A training room…"

Captain America had pulled a lever down from the second floor balcony to switch on the lights. The Black Widow is standing by his side in her full gear. He pulls another lever at the control panel. Projection lights clicked out of the walls and transformed the entire space into a realistic simulator of a clean warehouse's cargo area beside a long window wall. Natural looking sunlight shines through.

The hologram masked everything, but Peter felt the walls and floor shift. He reaches out his hand to a steel latter beside him. He can grab it; it's tangible. Everything else must be as well. The training room had physically transformed as well to add to the reality of the environment.

Captain Rogers barks out. "Alright Spider-Man, let's see what you got!"

Peter noticed all the Avengers formed up several feet before him while he was distracted by the change of scenery around him. He stretches his arms and cracks his neck. "Here comes the initiation, here comes the-"

The Avengers charge right for him.

"Sweet MAMMA!"

He spins a web and narrowly escapes the accumulated attack from overhead. Parker lands on a stack of silver Stark Industries labeled boxes. "I expected a hazing, but geez guys c'mon."

"Hazing comes after you make the cut." Falcon swoops in, nearly slicing Peter with the edge of his razor sharp wing. Parker flipped out of the way. Next comes War Machine, flying in. Spidey thwips a web onto his chest and swings across the wide area.

Waves of red energy flow around Wanda's hands as she gets ready. Beside her floats the Vision who observes the young boy in tights evading everything their teammates throw at him. "Keep him distracted." He then sinks into the floor. Wanda moves in.

Spider-Man uses two lines of webs to drop a tall metallic shelve of heavy supplies onto Rhodey. He then turns his attention to Wilson. "Cool Wings."

He hops on his back and Falcon zigzags around the bright warehouse, trying to shake him off, but the spider sticks on tight. "You know I fought a guy once with metal wings too."

"You don't say."

They soar up over the rafters. Spidey reaches over to one end of Wilson's wingspan. "Yep…"

When they swoop down low enough, Peter hugs onto the long wing and twists his body, slamming the Falcon down to the hard floor.

"He was a lot tougher to take down though."

His spider-sense tingles. He leaps out of the way but something has him; something lifts him into the air, but he sees nothing. "What sorcery is this?"

Wanda steps up with her hand extended.

"Oh right, the Scarlet _Witch_, duhh."

The enhanced flings him off to the side. Spidey quickly recovers, sticking onto a wall. Large shipping containers, shrouded in misty red energy, hover behind Wanda.

"So not fair."

She launches them all at him. Thanks to his reflexes, he dodges them and runs along the side of the last one propelled at him. He swings all around her as she keeps trying to shoot him out of the air.

"Nice try! Whoop! Almost had it there! A for effort! Maybe try a little more focus?"

"You should be the one focusing. Enjoying the view from up there?"

"What makes ya ask that?"

"You've been starring down my chest!"

"How could you tell behind my mask!?" He takes cover behind a wall.

"I don't have to see you to read you."

The wall starts to tremble. "Whatever that means crazy hot lady."

He swings off the wall and senses another danger coming his way. He quickly spins another web to evade a flying attack from the grey armored Avenger. "War Machine. Cool name, but the grey's a little bland."

Rhodes tries to ignore his excessive yapping as they fight in the air while the Scarlet Witch concentrates on lifting her heavy object.

"Here's a lil' fanboy confession, the star spangled man way over there was a huge influence on my color scheme. Red and blue is the way to go, bro."

"Tried it for a while, didn't suit me."

"Oh yeah, the Iron Patriot. God, first you copied Iron Man, then Captain America. What's next? The _Iron Spider_?"

Spidey swings circles around War Machine. Rhodes cannot land a hit to save his life. "How do you keep doing that!?"

"Doing what? Being awesome? Like this." He backflips over him and drop kicks the Avenger down.

Rhodey doesn't hit the ground. He swoops back up in front of the giant wall that Wanda has manipulated into the air, ready to launch at a clear shot. Spidey sticks two strings of web onto the floating wall and slingshots himself right into War Machine, tackling him through it.

Wanda screams as large chunks of debris fall all around her.

Falcon dives in.

"Nope." Spidey responded by swinging down a large wooden container box that crashes Wilson back to the floor. "Why are you even part of this squad? You got a pass just because you're the boss's bestie?"

Then the remaining boards his web held onto he swings into Wanda, knocking her back.

He claps the dust off his hands as if finished. "That wasn't so bad. Good hustle team."

Suddenly his spider-sense goes ballistic. The Vision slowly rises up out of the floor behind the confused Spider-Man. But the young hero spins around and throws his strongest punch. "Hah! Can't sneak up on me!"

His fist goes right through the android's stomach as if he were a ghost. "Say whaaaa…?"

The Vision changes his density. Peter cannot pull out his fist no matter how hard he tries. Spidey-sense has not stopped. "Oh boy,"

One good punch to the jaw sends Peter way across the warehouse.

His face slides against the floor. "Um…OW!"

He shakes it off and gets back up. "Note to self: don't get too close to the robo-ghost."

Vision flies over him, picking up on his abilities. "Incredible endurance, super powered strength, and breathtaking agility."

Parker keeps to his word. He makes sure not to get too close. "You sweet talker you."

This strange Avenger phases through the walls and anything Peter swings at him. He has to find a new angle.

Wanda used a stream of her energy to fly her up to a stable pile of shipments.

"Can't stay away?" Peter dished out conceitedly.

"Can't keep quiet?" She hissed back.

"My silly remarks are part of my charm."

He dodges the combined efforts of Wanda and the Vision with remarkable grace.

"So you think." She tried to pluck him out of the air.

Parker suddenly senses something else from across the warehouse. A repulsor blast fires in. At the last possible second, Peter twirled out of the way. It was so last second that he couldn't do anything to keep it from hitting Wanda. It went passed him, through Vision, and shot Scarlet Witch off her high ground. She fell into a smaller pile with a sharp cry.

"Wanda!" The Vision leaves Parker alone to hurry to make sure she's alright.

"Hmm…" Spidey observed from the ceiling.

Rhodey lands on a catwalk beside him. "Hey, bootleg Iron Man! You know anything about those two?"

After an aggravated grunt, Rhodes rockets in with a strong punch that dents the steel ceiling where Spidey used to be. He leaps around him, and evades further repulsor rays. "Sloppy. You seem to hit everything but me, and I'm like the brightest target, ever."

"Do you ever shut up?"

"Do you ever not suck?"

War Machine breaks through a sturdy catwalk. Peter simply lands on another one with a chuckle. He mocks his opponent. "Ooh, look at me, I'm just like Iron Man except not as cool, not a genius, and oh yeah I have a big gun."

He lifts his hand up to his mouth and says in a high-pitch voice. "Overcompensating much,"

Rhodes falls in and steps up throwing a series of punches. Spidey effortlessly dodges them all as he steps back with his hands folded behind his back.

"Shut up."

"Make me."

"Shut up!"

"Make me."

"Shut UP!"

"Make mmeeee,"

Rhodes yells out as he slams his fist down, collapsing the entire catwalk they were fighting on. Spidey glues Rhodey's fist to the surface with a ball of webbing as they fall.

Peter sings the line. "And we all fall down!"

Before Rhodey can fly up, Parker covered his rocket boots in thick balls of webbing too. In free fall, War Machine tries to shoot Spidey with his free hand. It gets covered up as well. Spider-Man then begins to crawl all over him, plastering the Avenger to the long piece of the broken catwalk with and endless amount of webbing.

Peter lands on his feet, and watches his handy work come crashing down. A fat cocoon of web splats onto the floor with a loud mechanical thud! War Machine is taken care for the time being.

His spider-sense directs him toward the witch and the android.

Wanda saw what happened in his brain and warns out. "He can sense us coming! That's why we can't pin him down. He has a…a _spider-sense_."

He sticks onto the side of a large container as the two Avengers approach him. "Hey! How'd you know that!? Read my mind or something?"

"Yes." She said bluntly.

It takes him a moment to process. He crawls up to the top of the large, steel container. "Ooooh…so telekinesis, telepath type of girl. In that case…"

Wanda reads his mind again, and her face cringes in disgust. "Ew!"

She presses her hands up against her head, not believing what she just saw. Peter quickly somersaults over her, webbing her hands together.

"Can you blame me? You're just so gosh darn beautiful, and my raging hormones are all over the place. For god's sake, I'm just a teenager!"

He turns to see the Vision flying towards him.

"You wouldn't hit a minor would you?" He dodges a right hook. "Yes you would."

Not being able to land one hit, the Vision phases right through the boy's body.

Peter shivered at the chills sent throughout his everything. "O-fff-ff-ffff-ff…please don't ever do that again."

A laser beam shoots out of the yellow gem on the android's forehead. Spidey takes a huge leap back and thwaps a web over that firing gem. When Vision tears it off, Peter is already beside him. Not to fight this time though.

He whispers into his ear. "Hey Jet Jaguar, Did you know Scarlet over there has a total crush on you."

She heard him through his mind and yells at him while trying to break free of the webbing restraining her from unleashing her telekinetic power. "Shut up!"

Vision looks over at her, unable to tell whether she's turning red from rage or embarrassment.

Peter nudges him with an elbow. "See. Don't need telepathy to read the tone of that."

"Wanda?" Vision asks innocently.

She tries to warn him of what Spider-Man is about to do next. "Look!"

Peter zipped up to the ceiling. When Vision darted up at him, he shot a line of webbing at Wanda's confined hands. The android looked back at her in worry as Parker yanked her high into the air. The yellow-caped Avenger dashes up to catch her.

Peter holds onto the line as he leaps through a steel beam within the rafters. He brings his weight down as he falls, bringing Wanda and Vision up. He then spins the line around them, pressing the two Avengers together face-to-face. Parker hangs on the line above their heads and layers an extra wrap of webbing around their torsos, sandwiching them together tight. "Now I know you can phase through this but something tells me neither of you love birds want to."

He knocks on Vision's chrome head in a friendly manner. "You're welcome buddy."

Spider-Man swings away.

Wanda tries to wriggle free. "Ah that annoying little-"

"You are in distress." He stated but it come out sounding like a question.

"Of course I am, I…" She feels his confused thoughts. "Vision?"

He detects a few things as well. "You are nervous. Your heart rate has increased. Your skin temperature is burning. Are you feeling…?"

"Perhaps you should focus on getting us out of here."

His eyes shift, averting hers. "Yes…that is indeed what I should do next. But…the arachnid was right."

"What?"

He looks into her big, beautiful eyes. "I rather enjoy being this close to you…"

A warmth spreads across her face.

* * *

Spider-Man lands by the windowed wall. "Your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man, making OTPs come true."

He scans the area. "And here I thought I was joining the Avengers, not the B-team."

"It ain't over till it's over!" He didn't even need his senses to hear Sam Wilson coming in hot. He turns to face the winged Avenger.

"Tweety bird again?" He crosses his hands and shoots out two lines of web that pin both the wings. Peter than turns and with his strength swings Falcon back-first into the window, shattering through it.

The realistic hologram fractures because Wilson slammed into the actual surface of the training room wall with a loud grunt.

Spider-Man thwaps his wings to the visible metallic wall. Then both his extended arms, and both his feet apart, leaving him webbed up in a jumping jack position. Peter tops it off by softballing a firm web ball to his exposed groin. A painful groan escapes his mouth.

Peter winced behind his mask. "Oooo, no baby chicks for you."

Up on the balcony, Rogers looks over at Romanoff. "This young man's confidence is getting ridiculous."

"I'll teach the kid a lesson." She leaps off the second floor balcony, executing a flawless acrobatic move.

"Hiyah!" Parker wasted no time and jump in with a flying karate kick. Natasha leaned out of the way and stomped her heel down on his back. Peter bounces off the floor. "Whoa okay,"

"You think this is a joke?"

"I pretend everything's a joke. Makes life easier."

"Well this won't be." She pulled out her electrified batons.

"Cool, lightsabers!"

The Black Widow attacks with a flurry of precision, but nothing hits the boy with spider-sense and spider-like reflexes. He starts mouthing the Star Wars 'Dueling of the Fates' theme. "Awww Haw Hawww!"

Natasha did not realize how quickly this kid would get on her nerves. Spidey lets the fight continue until he finishes the exciting part of the theme.

To end it, he takes a flip back and…

"BAM!" He shot out an explosive loud of web from both wrists that blasted Natasha onto the wall. All that can be seen of her is her face. The rest of her body is splattered in thick, sticky white webbing.

Spidey jumps on the wall beside her and utters apologetically. "Sorry I finished so quickly, I swear this has never happened to me before."

She rolled her eyes in disgust. "Ugh,"

Spider-Man pounces off and starts dancing and boasting in the middle of the cargo area. "Yeah, I'm good! I'm good, I'm good, I'm good! Living life just like I should!"

His tingling senses put a stop his singing. He ducks as Cap's shield jams into the floor. The simulated environment fades back to the original training room. Peter is star struck by the historical weapon. Not sensing any other danger, he walks up to it.

"Whoever wields this mighty shield, if he be patriotic…shall possess the righteousness of…" He yanks out the shield and wears it, punching his fist up into the air in a heroic pose. "America!"

Captain Rogers marches up to him, pulling his shield back with his magnetic gauntlet. Spidey turns to his hero, the living legend himself.

"Training exercise over!"

Vision, Scarlet, and Rhodes walk in to Cap and Spidey at the center of the atrium. War Machine and Wanda yank off remains of webbing off themselves in defeated frustration. Falcon and Widow are still pasted to the wall. They are not going anywhere soon.

Peter awaits his praise. "Sooo?"

Cap turns his attention to his team. "Do you know what the problem here was?"

"Yeah, he's annoying as all hell." Rhodey blurted out.

"Exactly,"

Steve lays a hand on Peter's shoulder. "Spider-Man knew the odds were stacked against him so he talked, and kept talking. He pushed every single one of your buttons. Even yours…" He looked to Wanda.

She shuts her eyes and rubs her forehead at recalling the thought Spidey put in her head. "What I've seen cannot be unseen."

Spidey cocks a wink through his mask. "Call me,"

"You did good recruit. I always knew you had it. We need heroes like you."

"Do we? Do we really?" Rhodes sighed.

"Yes, we do. This is the New Avengers and Spider-Man here qualified for the previous roster. And he's just proven himself more than qualified to join this one. He's quick on his feet and quick with his wit. He's-"

"Spectacular?" Peter couldn't help himself.

"I was going to say _different_, which is just what we are. We're different from S.h.i.e.l.d, different from the original Avengers. A few improvements still need to be made…" He scans his defeated team, "Clearly. But…"

He extends his hand to shake Spider-Man's. It's a dream come true for Peter.

Captain America says with a smile. "Welcome to the team."

Spidey shakes his hero's hand, acting as cool as possible. Its official, Spider-Man is officially an Avenger!

Rhodey interrupts the moment. "We don't even know his name."

Wanda steps in. "I can find out."

Parker jumps back. "Hoe, don't do it!"

Steve raises his hand to stop her. "No! This has to be built on trust, and if Spider-Man isn't ready to reveal his secret identity then we must respect that."

She hesitates and then pouts away, respecting his privacy. "Very well."

"Now…" Rogers looks around the room. The place is a wrecked mess with webs dangling everywhere. "Time for the cleanup."

"Oooo, yeah, about that…" Peter swings across the wide training room towards the exit. "I just remembered it's a school night and I have this big science project to turn in tomorrow."

Wanda checked his mind. "No you don't."

"Okay fine! I'm behind on 'Community' alright, sue me!"

The doors slide open.

"Later, loves." Spider-Man hurriedly exited the room, leaving the Avengers with his mess to clean up.

Steve chuckles a bit. He grins. "A teenager just came in here and mopped the floor with all of you. This team's in worse shape than I thought."

He looks over to Natasha and Wilson. He says, exiting the scene. "Help them out, then meet down at the barracks for your morning drills."

Everyone hunches over in a loud groan.

_**~End~**_


	3. Coming of Age: Pt 1

**Disclaimer: Potential spoilers for _Avengers: Age of Ultron_**

**Synopsis: A short story set before the events of Age of Ultron in which the Maximoff twins are let out a few days after surviving Strucker's successful experiments. They revisit places from their childhood and enjoy themselves, having a bit of fun with their newly enhanced abilities. That is...before everything starts to go horribly wrong.**

**A/N: It's sad that I won't get to see the further adventures of the twins together in future MCU films. So I'm going to pretend that they have had several different kinds of experiences before the tragic events of the movie, and maybe I'll write about a few more. I honestly don't know how this turned out, but I wanted to post it anyway. I added sentimental value to things that are not really anything special in the film (like the ruby necklace Wanda always wears). The twins essentially start off looking the way they do in the mid-credits scene of _Captain America: The Winter Soldier_ and end up looking the way they do at the beginning of _Avengers: Age of Ultron_.**

* * *

:Coming of Age:  
[Part One]

Panic spreads throughout the Hydra facility in Sokovia. Soldiers run through the halls in a hurry, checking every room. Security personal scurry over their setup of monitors, desperately hoping to catch a glimpse of something, anything.

The head German scientist paces back and forth through the hectic control room. "Finds them! How could they have escaped!?"

"Escaped? What's all this about?"

Everyone stops what they are doing to look up at Baron von Strucker as he makes his way down the flight of stairs.

"Sir? Y-you are back? Uh…you see…"

"Doctor?" He stops directly in front of the old scientist with his hands clamped behind his back, awaiting a truthful response.

"The twins…they are missing…"

A deafening silence radiates off of Strucker's stern expression. Fearful tension fills the room full of Hydra employees. Then Baron's face relaxes into a spontaneous laugh.

The head scientist is confused. He nervously asks, "Sir…?"

"I let them out before I left."

"You…you did?"

Strucker begins to walk towards the window, motioning his men to calm down and cease their needless search. "After months of rigorous experimentation, we finally stuck upon success. How painfully strenuous it all was…I figured I'd let them stretch their legs."

"But…we still do not know the full extent of their abilities."

"They will figure it out." He looks out onto Sokovia with a calm smile. "They have a whole playground out there to do so."

"What if?"

"No worries doctor, I gave them a curfew. The twins will return home by nightfall."

* * *

A blue and white static blur dashes through the afternoon street market. The sun casts a warm orange hue over their homeland. Pietro carries Wanda into a tight alley, setting her down on her feet.

"Pietro…" she cannot shake the smile off her face due to her exhilarating excitement, "That was incredible! You brought us all the way out here in less then what, a minute?"

She places her hands on his chest as he pants a few times. "It was nothing, sister." After quickly regaining his breath, he peels back the white bindings on her hand. "Does it still hurt?"

Wanda looks down at her hands surprised "Actually, no…" she removes her wrappings completely, revealing the faintest hints of the scars that were down her wrists from the experiments. Her brother checks the back of her neck, where they drilled into her as well. The marks have faded down. "The pain on my flesh is gone, but…the pain in here," she laid her hand on her chest, "will forever remain."

He gingerly rubs her arms, "I know…I know…" then pulls out a wrinkled little picture from his back pocket. They stare into the image of their parents holding them when they were kids. It is the only family picture Pietro managed to recover from the wreckage. "But what we volunteered for…it was worth it."

"I know," she says wiping a tear.

The brother puts the little picture away and turns to find one of those large steel, green donation boxes were people throw in old rags they no longer want. He yanks out a pair of long, black acrylic arm warmers to hand to her sister. She slips them on contently. He also sets a warm, red drape over her shoulders. She fixes it around her arms, wearing it to her liking.

"Hungry?" He runs out and immediately returns with a fresh apple from the market.

She shakes her head with a smile, letting out a motherly tone. "Pietro, we have to pay for that."

He tosses it to her and she catches it with her telekinetic abilities. "Says who?"

She gives him the look.

"We'll repay them later. It's not stealing, it's…borrowing." He smirks.

Wanda goes ahead and bites into the apple. Then she notices his grey, sleeveless tee. "Oh no, your shirt,"

Pietro glances down at its tears across his torso. "Can't sustain my speed." He disappears in a split second and skids back in a clean blue V-neck.

She throws her arms into the air. "Now where did you get that?"

"Thrift store on the other side of town. Now one will notice it's gone."

Her smile fades away as she runs her hand throw his hair, noticing a sudden change. "Pietro…the more you run the more your hair…"

He rushes down the alley, fishing out a small, cracked mirror. He grunts out, "Ah c'mon!"

"I think it looks nice." She inches up behind him.

"Don't patronize me."

His sister places a hand on his shoulder, leaning in. "Those in the west have far more ridiculous colors than you."

"They do?"

"Yes, I saw it in magazine. Apparently it's "trendy" to have the stupidest hairstyles."

He feels a little better.

"Now come, let us walk around the market."

"No Wanda, I cannot be seen like this."

She takes small bite out of her apple and pulls him by the arm. "Get over yourself,"

"But I-"

"Don't make me force you, you know I can now, so come."

"Alright, alright,"

They walk out onto the lively streets of the open market arm and arm. She smiles up at him, "If anything, you should be upset the tests couldn't fix that face of yours."

He pretends to laugh. "Very funny. We're twins, genius."

She giggles into his broad shoulder.

* * *

The twins enjoy their stroll through the diverse market. Its blocks are filled with freshly smelling foods and custom-made fabrics and imported items of all kinds.

They remember wandering through this local street market when they were little. It was only a few blocks from where their home used to stand. They would find sneaky ways to take whatever caught their eye. Their mother would have come find them and they would run away laughing, but she would always catch them. Then she would make them return everything they took and apologize. If they were good the next week, she would bring them back to the market and buy whatever it was they wanted in the first place.

The Maximoff twins turn the corner with free samples in hand that were offered to them. Pietro snacks on his small cup of chopped fruits. Wanda sips through the straw of her refreshingly natural beverage.

"Oh great," Pietro turns to avoid someone.

"What is it?"

"That girl keeps looking over at me." He glance back to catch the young woman whisper something into her friend's ear. "They must be laughing at my hair." He gets jumpy in an aggressive manner. "I'll show them what to laugh at."

Before the hot tempered brother can take his first step, Wanda grabs his arm. "Wait no," she stares over at the pretty young woman sitting at the bench by the pond with her widened eyes of fascination. Wanda finds it fascinating what she is able to hear her. She hears…her thoughts.

Pietro demands. "Is she, is she not?"

His sister tilts her head as she reveals, "Pietro, no, she…she has interest in you."

"She does?" Suddenly his perception of the woman changes to a far more positive outlook. "Well, she seems nice."

"She is," Wanda finds out more about her. "She is a bit odd though…"

"How so?"

She looks up at her brother with a playful grin. "Because she finds you handsome."

He shoots her a cold look, but her smile made him end up cracking a smirk.

The woman's friend hugs her goodbye and leaves. Wanda taps her brother, seeking his full attention. "Here, I have an idea. I'm going to try something…"

* * *

Pietro confidently struts up to the young woman by the pond. She is beautiful with her letdown hair and dark complexion. Wanda has opened up a mental connection where Pietro is able to hear her initial thoughts without her knowing.

She thinks: _Finally he approaches me._

Pietro smiles and introduces himself. She quickly gestures him to sit beside her. They start off with some fun small talk. She mentions she likes his hair, boosting his ego. Knowing just what to say to her left an excellent impression. He makes her laugh by appealing to her type of humor. Wanda then sends him flashing images of the woman's favorite things and fondest memories that he can subtly ask her about later.

"Are you hungry? I'll treat you to a…fruit tart. The ones from the place down the block."

"I'd love that. Those are my favorite! How'd you?"

"Lucky guess, c'mon." He takes her by the hand and they walk passed the pond.

Pietro hears his sister tell him in his head: _I'll leave the rest to you._

He replies with: _Don't go too far and be careful, sister._

Wanda smiles from the fence she is leaning on as she watches her brother go: _For once, don't worry so much about me. Try to enjoy yourself for today. We don't know if we'll ever be given another chance like this. And good luck._

She ends the telepathic connection, and ventures around on her own.

* * *

Arriving at the local shop, Pietro opens the door for his date. But a rude man yapping on his phone cuts her off and bumps into him.

"Hey!"

"No, it's fine. Let him be."

Pietro ceases his tense scowl, and walks her in with a smile. Inside, he pretends to check his pockets. "I think I dropped my wallet. Just have a seat, I'll be right back."

She nods and finds a nice table for two by the window as Pietro leaves.

The obnoxious man suddenly gets hit with a blur that he assumed was just a strong gust of wind. He dropped his phone flat on its screen, lifting it up to find it all cracked.

Pietro returns to the shop, looking through his new wallet. He tosses out the man's photo I.D. and uses the wad of cash to pay for the fruit tart and drinks and anything else his date might want later.

* * *

Wanda parted through a beaded curtain to step into an old gypsy woman's little jewelry shop. She greets the old owner, as she continues to look around the candle lit room.

"Care to take a look into your future?" She asks.

"I'd rather not know, thank you."

Then she notices something familiar on the counter; a small, uniquely crafted, hickory-brown chest. She does away with the lock by streaming out red energy from her fingertips. Her face silently gasps at the treasures uncovered. She lifts up a medallion containing a ruby…it was her mothers. Inside there is also a long necklace and several different kinds of rings; all of which also belonged to her mother and were handed down to her from relatives.

The old woman steps up to her in concerned shock. "How did you open that?"

Wanda clutches the ruby to her breast and shuts the box filled with her family's belongings. "Where did you get this?" She asks sternly.

"Put that down, you shouldn't be playing with it. Its-"

"One of a kind? I know. It belonged to my mother."

"No it absolutely did not."

The Maximoff steps up to the short old gypsy, intimidating her. "She wore it every day."

"Young lady, I personal picked that medallion up on a trip to Latver-"

"You're lying!" Her furious eyes flare a pale red. She forces herself into the memories of the terrified old woman. The gypsy screams at the sharp, intruding pain in her head. Wanda sees the true story. This vulture plucked the pieces of Maximoff jewelry from the wreckage of her childhood home – she picked the ruby right off her mother's scorched corpse. In fact, she has scavenged all the items she sells.

Wanda's red eyes pierce not the woman's soul, putting the fear of god in her. "After the wreckage, you…" Waves of her red energy start to steam off of her entire body. "You looted my dead mother?"

"I-I'm sorry, I-"

Wanda's unstable power knocks over the many candles scattered throughout the small shop, setting the whole place on fire. She realizes what her emotional anger has caused and tries to help the fallen old lady, but a piece of flaming debris prevents her. She then hears the screams of the people outside.

Wanda uses her power to get herself to safety. She drops to her knees out on the street. She cannot stop hearing the combination of people's screams and their even louder thoughts. The burning flames have spread down the block.

The locals see that she came out with the small chest and is still holding onto the ruby. They accuse her of stealing and of starting the fire. Their hateful words and judgmental thoughts are too much to take in all at once. Wanda cannot shut them out. Her powers are getting out of hand without stop just as the raging fire is.

An angry man gets too close to her. "Stay away from me!" A red blast knocks him back into the crowd. Her unintended action of self-defense only brought on more hate from the mob of people.

Their thoughts are too much too bare:

_What did she just do?_

_The fire, oh my heavens, the fire!_

_She's one of those enhanced!_

_She did all this._

_She must be one of those Avengers freaks!_

_Always causing death and destruction where ever they go._

_It's all her fault._

_Monster!_

_She's a monster!_

_A damn filthy witch!_

Wanda tries so hard to control her powers but sudden bursts spike out, hurting more people. She balls up, hugging on tight to the small box of what little treasure her family did have...of what little she still has.

* * *

At the food shop, Pietro and his date are halfway through their delicious meal. He has really enjoyed this. It is the only sense of calm normalcy he remembers having in a very, very long time.

"So it's just you and your sister?"

"Yeah, we're all we have left."

She smiles. "Well I think it's sweet. You're a good older brother."

He shies away from the compliment. "Thanks,"

"Family is all anyone really has anymore. Those so called superheroes have ruined so much for people like us. Just look at the state of our once great Sokovia."

Pietro chuckles as he lifts his fork up for another bite.

She bats her eyelashes. "What?"

"It's just nice to meet someone else who hates them just as much as me."

A warm expression of understanding spreads across her face as she slides her hand across the table to hold his.

Then they here all the commotion outside. They both look over to the edge of the window where the fire and smoke are clearly visible in the distance.

"What on earth is going on over there?"

"Let's find out." Pietro leaves a tip and they both leave to go see for themselves.

Most individuals are running away in a panic as they make their way towards the flaming smoke. Once they almost reach the area, Pietro hears his sister call out to him in his mind: _Pietro please!_

"Wanda!" He shoves everyone out of the way to witness his twin sister balled up on the ground being cussed at and having objects thrown at her.

His date is right behind him. She sees spheres of red magic protecting the enhanced from the various projectiles. "Is that your…?"

The brother is about to rush in, but the young woman pulls on his arm. "No, you can't! She's one of those monsters."

Pietro glares back at her and roughly yanks his arm away. "A monster? She's my sister." He rushes in with his super speed.

The woman sees that he is one of them too. She quickly turns and joins the hateful crowd.

Pietro knocks out all the people that were chucking stones and such at his sister. Then he quickly speeds in, sweeping up Wanda in his arms, and carries her off to safety. They leave the flame engulfed street market behind.

* * *

The lightning fast blue and white trail ends at the top of a green mountain just outside the city, looking over the nation. Pietro sets Wanda down on the soft flowery grass. He took her far enough away so that she could clear her head of everyone's thoughts.

"What happened?"

She utters in guilt. "I…I messed up, Pietro…"

He hugs her close. "No, no you didn't. Whatever it was, you were just defending yourself. They provoked you."

She cries into his chest. "That's no excuse. We're supposed to protect them and instead I let myself hurt them."

"Stop it. You can't blame yourself. You're still new to this. We both are. It will take time to adjust."

She inches back, seeing his blue V-neck got shredded and his hair has turned even more silver-white. Only his roots remain the same color the rest once was. She stares at her hand. "What we became…are we really just like _them_ now? Are we monsters?"

He cups her face in. "No we're not. You know that."

She lifts up her red drape to wipe her tears. "Tell me it's worth it."

"It is. It will be. Promise."

She gets a hold of herself and smiles down at her possessions. Her brother takes a look. "What's all this?"

"Do you recognize it?" She raises the ruby medallion up to his eyes.

"Mothers…" He holds it in his hands with such love and care.

"This as well," she opens up the brown shaded chest, "It all belonged to her, some passed down from generations."

Pietro takes the medallion and carefully places it around Wanda's neck. Both their fingers trace along the ruby.

"Hey," he calls for her gaze.

She looks up to see him give her a smile that washes all her troubles away, "Worth it."

Wanda wraps her arms around her twin brother, embracing him lovingly. He hugs her back, letting it last up on that beautifully grassy mountaintop. They have been on their own ever since that tragic day. All they have ever had to rely on was each other. Even with their enhanced abilities, that has not changed. They are all they will ever need.


	4. Coming of Age: Pt 2

**Disclaimer: Potential spoilers for _Avengers: Age of Ultron_. Slightly darker subject matter hinted at and dealt with in this final part. Still rated T.**

**Synopsis: A short story set before the events of AoU in which the Maximoff twins are let out a few days after surviving Strucker's successful experiments. They revisit places from their childhood and enjoy themselves, having a bit of fun with their newly enhanced abilities. That is...before everything starts to go horribly wrong.**

* * *

:Coming of Age:  
[Part Two]

The twins separate from their warm embrace at the sound of someone coming.

Pietro stands up, ready for a fight. "Did someone follow us?"

Wanda lifts her hand up to his abdomen to stop him. "No…" she hears thoughts of sadness and desperation. "She's scared."

Through the bushes beside them, steps out a beaten little girl. Wanda immediately walks over to her. "My dear, what happened to you?"

The little girl just starts sniffling back tears and falls into Wanda's arms.

"I…I had to get away…"

Pietro steps in to ask to little girl. "Away from who? Who beat you?"

Wanda scans the girl's mind, seeing the brutality of what she just went through. She looks back at her brother. The look on her face is enough to warrant a necessary action. She caresses the poor girl. "It's okay, it's okay. I know what happened. You don't have to talk about it. Can you…can you just tell us your name?"

The little girl takes a step back, rubbing her eye. "S-Scarlet…"

"Hi Scarlet. I'm Wanda and this is my brother Pietro. You don't need to run away anymore. We can help you."

"You can?"

"We can?" Pietro is caught off guard by her statement as well.

Wanda tells him telepathically: _I must do something right today._

She keeps her hands on the girl's arms. "Yes, yes we can. It's what we signed up for."

Hope gleams onto the little girl's face. "Um…I can show you where it is."

Wanda smiles. "You already did." She stands and looks to Pietro. "We'll need to hurry."

He raises his eyebrows with a smirk. "Won't be a problem."

* * *

The twins walk the little girl by her hand up to an abandoned school building on the outskirts of town. The sun is setting, soon to be followed by the shroud of nightfall.

Pietro had sprinted into a sports store on the way here. He got himself a fitted long-sleeve Under Armor compression shirt and a thick track jacket with white segmented arrows down the sleeves to wear over, along with more durable pants. All this active wear should be far more resistant to his speed. Wanda and the girl did not even notice he left for that split moment to collect his new outfit.

The little girl looks up at him in amazement. "Wow, you're quick."

"Thanks,"

Wanda is not too happy with him. "Pietro…"

"What? I left them all my cash. No stealing."

"And where did you get this cash?"

"Some fat bastard."

She shoots him her disapproving look.

Pietro looks to the broken down school. "He deserved it. Just as these people do."

Wanda drops it, and bends down to tell the girl. "You did your part. Now remember what I told you?"

She nods and runs off to a safe distance behind some cover across the empty parking lot.

Wanda stands by her twin brother's side. "You ready for this?"

He loosens his arms and neck. "Always am. Are you?"

She glances at him with a confident smile. "Try to keep up."

Pietro grins as he blasts through the front doors. Wanda follows with her red hexes swirling around her hands.

There are armed guards positioned along the main lobby. The speedster already took care of them though. The twins make their way through the halls of the war-torn school, taking down any armed personal unfortunate enough to stand in their way.

They arrive at the basement beneath the institute. Wanda blasts open the doors and her eyes were not ready for what she saw. This extremist group was forcing children no older than ten to work in this underground sweatshop, and brutally beating those who did not comply.

Pietro whizzes all around the long basement of operations, disarming every soldier. Wanda then steps in and finishes them off, sending them crashing into the walls and ceiling with her telekinetic abilities.

The two dozen or so children all rush out at the rescue. The brother carries a little boy whose legs were bashed in before they could get there. The sister leads the kids out to safety, reassuring them that they will be okay. Pietro hands the wounded boy over to a bigger child to carry so he can check the halls ahead. He punched out two men that were waiting three classrooms down.

The twins successfully escort the children out of the old school from the back, but they are not in the clear just yet. When they come back to the parking lot from the side, they catch something under the light of a lamp post that repeals the misty night. They see the head boss of this secret operation holding Scarlet hostage with a gun to her head. She had gone back inside to retrieve something and that is when she was apprehended.

Wanda motions all the boys and girls to stay back.

He threatens. "Don't try anything you freaks of nature. Leave the children here and walk away, or I will blow this pretty little girl's brains out."

Rage grows within Wanda's soul as she looks into this sick man's head. This is the same man who not only beat Scarlet, but did so because she kept trying to resist him from forcing himself onto her in the most disgustingly perverse acts. Her eyes glow red and her fingers twitch.

Pietro notices what is going on from behind some kids. "Wanda don't. Calm down." He worries she will lose control again.

Suddenly the man tenses up, not even able to speak. He lets go of the little girl. She stumbles to the pavement and looks back at the head boss. He breathes heavily as his arm holding the gun starts to shake. Wanda tilts her head, staring into him almost psychotically. Against his own will, he brings the firearm up to his temple.

"Wanda!" Her brother tries to snap her out of it. "There are children here!"

She hears none of it. She only feeds off of the man's ever growing fear. He cannot even beg for mercy, for she will not grant him even that. He panics and sweats profusely. His finger slowly squeezes on the trigger.

The children all shut their eyes at the loud BANG rupture through the air. They open their eyes and Wanda blinks, returning to clarity from her blind rage.

The man is fine, panting uncontrollably and frightened to death, but fine. Pietro sped in at the last possible second to tackle him all the way to the building beside the parking lot, dodging the bullet before it stabbed into his skull. He did not do it for the man of course, not even for the children, no…he did it so his little sister would not have such a dark deed on her conscious.

Wanda recollects herself, telling the kids to leave the parking lot and that she will be right behind them.

Pietro ties up the head boss and throws him through the window of the school. He then speeds right in front of his sister. "There is a time and a place for what you were about to do. This here was neither of those." He clamps his hand around the back of her neck and looks into her eyes. "Remember who the real monsters are. Remember that we are not like them…" He slides his hand down to hold the ruby on the medallion hanging off her neck. "Remember who raised us better than that."

Wanda stares down at her mother's medallion, holding it up to her pensive face. Her eyes are lost in its reflective hue, while her mind is lost in her deepest thought.

* * *

The Maximoff twins brought the saved children to an orphanage that had a well-equipped medical center to treat the wounded. This orphanage was where they spent most of their early teen years. A few of the staff even recognize them, and ask were they have been and what they have been doing. Pietro leaves Wanda to do most of the talking. She always got along with everyone better than he cared to. He never really liked it here, but it was safe nonetheless.

They decide to stay for an hour or two with the children while everything gets arranged for them. They all have a big meal together in the playroom. Things settle fairly quickly. Some girls play with Pietro's hair, while Wanda helps handout fresh new clothes.

Then Scarlet walks up to her, hiding something behind her back. "Wanda?" She asks timidly.

She stops what she is doing to give Scarlet her undivided attention. "Yes Scarlet, what is it?"

"I…" The little girl kicks her feet around the carpet. "I made you something."

Her face brightens up. "Really, you did?"

"Yeah…here," She handed Wanda a nicely woven, casual black dress.

Wanda holds the thin, soft dress. She adores every inch of it with admiration. "This is such a kind gesture, thank you."

"You're welcome." She smiles proudly. "I finished it up for you."

"Finished it?" Wanda peeks inside her mind without meaning to. Scarlet started on this when she worked back at the sweatshop. It was what she went back for at the school. "Oh, Scarlet, no, I-I can't accept this."

"Yes you can, I wanted to finish this for you. You look like someone like me, someone who doesn't have much. So I want you to have it."

Wanda reads her thoughts, knowing that it will mean everything to her if she accepts this gift. How can she refuse? "Alright and again…thank you."

"And thank you for saving me and my friends."

Wanda holds the dress up to her heart and kneels down to give Scarlet a long, warm hug. "Tell your brother thanks too, and to stop being so grumpy all the time."

She smiles. "I will…"

It is already passed nighttime, so the twins decide it is best to head back before it gets any later. They say goodbye to everyone. The kids assure them that they won't tell anyone that they are secretly superheroes. The twins just laugh it off and say their thanks. The staff is eternally grateful for what they did today. Wanda and Pietro nod as if it was no big deal, and they leave the orphanage.

* * *

Up at the snowy mountains, the Maximoff twins return to the secret Hydra base. The trip did not take long thanks to Pietro's enhanced speed. He sets Wanda down on her feet and they wait outside the gates. They are a little worried they might get in trouble for coming back so late.

Then the metallic entrance pries open and there stands a not at all upset Baron von Strucker. In fact, an enthusiastic smile crosses his face at seeing their change of outfits. "Welcome home my little miracles…"

Just by the looks on their faces, he knows there is quite a story to be shared. "So tell me…" The twins make a brief glance at on another before Strucker finishes with, "How was your day?"

~End~

* * *

**A/N: To briefly address the one negative I got in my last Spider-Man One-Shot, he was supposed to come off as arrogant and annoying. He knew he couldn't defeat the Avengers all at once so he purposely got on everyone's nerves to throw them off their game, because that is what Peter Parker does.  
****Also, he has taken on the Avengers before. So has Black Panther when he first joined. Even Captain America when they first woke him up from the ice. It is a Classic trope.**

**If you do not like my writing or my stories, that's fine but don't just say it sucks. Give me more than that. I welcome constructive criticism. I need it.**

**Last thing, whoever you are, you completely contradicted yourself with this sentence, **_"There's no way he wouldn't defeated all of them"_

**To everyone else, thank you so much for your reviews. It means a lot.**


	5. You're An Avenger Now: Pt 1

**Synopsis: The Avengers prep for their first major mission with their newest recruit. Once they are out on the field, will they succeed or will more teamwork be needed?**

**A/N: Thank you all for the reviews you leave and favs/follows. It encourages me to write more. A guest mentioned he or she would love more Spider-Man, so here's a three-parter. Second part will be more team-based. Enjoy.**

* * *

:You're An Avenger Now:  
[Part One]

The new Avengers were seated at a round table with their logo its surface. Captain Rogers stands at the end, debriefing his team on their next mission. The hologram images revolving before them are what illuminate the dim room.

They are to raid a secret Hydra facility in the next two days, because their Intel suggests that in two days' time Hydra's mysterious new big, bad boss is arriving to collect a shipment of vibranium.

After going over the infiltration plan and digital layout of the building, Rogers states that they will run through all this again tomorrow to ingrain it in their heads. He appears to be wrapping up, so Spider-man raises his hand like the eager student of the class.

"Yes?" The captain raises an eyebrow.

The newest recruit points to a character profile down to beside Rogers. "Who's the scary guy with the metal arm?"

Natasha and Sam shoot him a, _what's wrong with you,_ kind of glare for asking about a touchy subject. Steve lifts his hand to inform them, "It's alright."

He brings up the file on the Winter Soldier. "This is James Buchanan Barnes. He's a friendly, but it's complicated. There's a strong possibility we might run into him on the field. All the more reason to get this done quickly and efficiently, because once he sees us he'll vanish like smoke. If any of you encounter him, you are not to engage. He's not a target, we don't take him down, we bring him in…" Steve lowers his gaze onto the table stoically, "We bring him home."

Everyone glances at one another, understanding the importance of this mission. The captain finishes with, "That'll be all. I recommend you read over your packets tonight. If you have any other questions about Barnes or anything at all, Natasha will be available with answers."

The holograms zoom away, and the lights come back on. Everyone gathers their things and begins exiting the room. Spider-Man still feels a bit overdressed, being the only one in his costume all the time when here at the upstate headquarters. But his secret identity is important to maintain, even with the Avengers. Besides, the Vision looking like he does makes him feel right at home with _a bunch of other weirdos_ as he would put it.

Speaking of Vision, he walked out with Wanda, carrying a conversation. Those two spend a lot of time together. Romanoff, Wilson, and Rhodes have left too, having what looked like a fun group chat.

Spider-Man was about to head back home when Steve suddenly places a subtle hand on his shoulder. "Hold on, son. I've got something to show you."

* * *

They walk down a large hallway with personnel cleaning up the walls and ceiling. What they are aggravatingly cleaning up is Spider-Man's webs. An amused grin forms on Steve's face. "Have you ever heard of walking? They say it's good for you."

"Walking? Pfft, so basic." He flicked a hand in the air.

Steve does not even try to know what this _basic_ slang word means. He simply turns the corner and the doors before them slide open. They enter the wide storage room where plenty of extra uniforms and equipment are kept. It is so neatly organized with Avengers' costumes behind glass and gadgets of all sorts mounted on the walls.

"Is this the vault?" The boy keeps looking around.

Steve unlocks a steel drawer on the wall. "No, this isn't the vault. The vault has all the larger and more advanced equipment. This is more like a closet." He pulls out a black and grey case from the slid open drawer and carries it over.

Spider-Man brings his hands over his heart. "For me!? You shouldn't have."

He holds it out in front of him. "Open it." Steve smiled.

Spidey clicks up the silver catches with his thumbs, flipping the case open. Good thing Cap could not see his face through his mask, because right now it was lighting up like a the 4th of July. But after letting out a deep, "Whoa," Rogers could grasp a pretty good idea.

The case contained an all new costume made just for him.

"If you're going to be rolling with this crew, you're going to need a uniform."

Spider-Man lifts up the torso part of this new suit. He stares into the spider insignia. The costume is more streamline, yet still true to his classic design.

"Cap…"

"The fibers will do a better job against blades and energy-based attacks than your Lycra spandex. It's also light, comfortable, and will quickly adjust to your shape. Our best worked on it, but feel free to make any changes as you see fit."

"I honestly don't know what to say. You really shouldn't have."

The suit goes back in the case, and Rogers sets it in his hands. "No need to say anything. You're an Avenger now, son. Your first mission with the team is in two days. I need you to be ready on all fronts."

"I won't let you down."

"I know you won't."

They head out of the large storage room. Spidey looks up at Steve to randomly quip out. "I promise to get you a new Frisbee for Christmas." He got a good laugh out of Rogers.


	6. You're An Avenger Now: Pt 2

**Synopsis: The Avengers prep for their first major mission with their newest recruit. Once they are out on the field, will they succeed or will more teamwork be needed?**

**A/N: I changed this to a three-parter. Also this and the One-Shot I will write next sort of serves as a fictional little prologue to Civil War.**

* * *

:You're An Avenger Now:  
[Part Two]

The Quinjet silently soars through the foggy, navy skies of the cool night. The Avengers are suited up and ready to go. Natasha begins to descend the bird as they approach the drop zone. The stealth-cloaked jet settles under the rocky cliffs of an unmarked island off the Norwegian coast.

Spidey was about to tuck in his earpiece under his mask, but Cap motioned him that there is no need as he walked by. The leader informs everyone. "They can pick up our frequencies, so we'll be going radio silent from here on out."

They all stand as he makes it to the end, and pushes the button to red, dropping open the door. He straps his helmet on.

The new Avenger asks. "Then how will we communicate out there without coms?"

Steve looks to Wanda, giving her the go ahead.

_Like this._

"Whoa! You're in my head!?" He brings his hands up to his forehead.

Sam Wilson elbows his arm as he passes by. _Use your inside voice, kid._ He heard him clearly but his lips did not even move.

"What the!?" _You're in my head to!?_

Wilson simply smiled and leaped out of the plane. His metal wings expand as the Falcon takes flight. The Vision joins him and together they scout ahead as planned.

_Not quite. _Wanda explains to the boy. _I've just mentally linked us all together._

The Quinjet lands in a flat enough spot, perfectly hidden away. The rest of the team marches out behind Cap.

_Cooool, wait can you?_

_No, I'm not able to see your true identity. I'm making a conscious effort not to._

They make their way up the cliff to a position that offers a perfect view of the secret Hydra base a few kilometers ahead.

_How? If you don't mind me asking._

_Picture it as me simply putting a black bar over your face whenever I come to you. Also, no, no one else can see each other's thoughts. This is only a verbal connection._

_Again, cool. How did this team ever survive before you?_

The Black Widow lies on her stomach, looking through her binoculars. _You fellas clear it yet?_

_Give us a sec_. Falcon then gives the android a compliment for silently taking out two guards at once. _Oh, very nice my man._

_Thank you very much. _Vision phases into the roof, making his way down to a specific area to secure first. _I've arrived at the security room. One moment… _He effortlessly takes out all the personnel, and then hovers over to the control panel. _Surveillance systems are now offline._

_And we took out everyone stationed outside. It's clear._

Cap hand signals his team. _Alright Avengers, let's move in._

War Machine soars up over the facility, at the ready in case any unwanted company comes in or if the team needs backup. His bulky suit is not exactly the quietest thing to sneak around in.

* * *

Inside, Cap and Wanda have split off to one half of the base, while Natasha and the new recruit infiltrate the upper floors.

_You nervous?_ The black widow asks the spider as they take cover behind a tight corner.

_I'd be lying if I said I wasn't. _

_You'll be fine kiddo. Just do your thing._

He likes it when she calls her kiddo. He just likes hearing her soothingly husky voice in general. Spider-Man nods and leaps on a wall. Then he crawls all the way up to the high ceiling, making his way across. As much as she would hate to ever admit it, Spidey could easily sneak into areas in ways Natasha never could.

Thick metal doors slide open as two armed men walk out. Spidey quickly crawls into the entrance from the ceiling. They never even saw him. _Alright I'm in._

_What do you see?_

_A really big computer data room thing like we saw in the schematics. Oh and heads up, the dudes who opened the door for me are coming towards y-_

_I already took care of them._

_You go girl._

_Anything I should look out for?_

_Yeah, my spider-sense is steering me away from scanners, lasers, and um other sorts of booby traps._

_Okay, I'll avoid them. Just get rid of whoever's inside._

_Already on it._

Personnel are scattered all around the vast data center. Spidey hangs down from a thread to snatch up a lone guard from behind. In another part of the huge storage room, he runs passed some servers, getting the attention of a suspicious worker. The person goes to check it out only to be yanked back by a web from behind. Spider-man continues picking off the Hydra members one by one the only way a Spider can.

_Clear!_

_Geez, no need to shout in my brain._ She walks up to him. He gives her a slight shrug. Natasha looks around impressed at all the knocked out Hydra goons webbed down or hanging from the ceiling.

They walk down a row of blinking servers as she searchers for a specific slot.

She stops at the desired sector and inserts her drive to drain all the data they need. _Cap, I found the extra Intel we came for. What's your twenty?_

Over in the loading dock, Steve and Wanda crouch down on a catwalk up above. They oversee the deal going on below them. _Down at the loading bay. Wanda and I have eyes on enemy activity, they're trafficking in weapons. Still no sign of Hydra's new top dog, or the vibranium._

_That's because we were wrong. _Vision's voice informs the team. _Vibranium was not being shipped here_. Falcon waits outside a massive vault to keep a lookout. Meanwhile the android is floating inside, not triggering any defense systems in his ghostly form. _It was going to be shipped out._

_How much of it? _Cap asks.

_Only a crateful_. The Vision stares at the precious substance being held in the center of the vault behind a cylinder of bulletproof glass. _I bypassed the sentry guns but once I remove it, the alarms will go off_.

_Just wait for my order. Natasha are you done?_

_Yeah, we're heading towards you now._

_Alright. We still need to see if our mystery man shows up._

_He's not. _Wanda stares down at the two main thugs talking. _Whoever he is. He's not coming. They sound upset by it._

Rogers lets out a sigh of disappointment. _Can you at least make out a name?_

She holds her fingers up to her temples to focus. _It's a…it's…_Wanda looks at Steve…_Zemo._

Rhodey cuts in. _We got two jets incoming. They're carrying something big._

_More weapons?_ Wilson asks.

_Mostly likely._

Natasha quickly informs. _Cap, Spidey and I are in position. Ready when you are._

Steve calls it. _Alright; War Machine, knock those birds out of the sky. Vision, get the vibranium to the Quinjet. Sam go with him. The rest of us…let's ruin these boys' night_.

The Vision phases his hands through the glass and yanks out the vibranium. Red lights spiral around the facility, aided by a screeching siren.

War Machine rockets towards the jets. He cuts through the cables, dropping the heavy cargo they were carrying. The shipping container breaks open on its seismic impact. Within the pitch-black shadows of the interior, a mechanical sound gears up and emerald green lights flare up.

Captain America and Scarlet Witch drop down from the catwalks at the same time as Black Widow and Spider-Man attack from the side. The enemy was still caught off guard by the sudden ring of the alarm. They never saw this surprise assault coming.

Romanoff punches down a thug with her widow's bite, then roundhouse kicks another in the face. Spidey flips over her and drops two Hydra agents to the hard ground. He sees Cap's shield ricochet all around him, taking out multiple targets. It comes back to him as it always does. Steve then bashes it into a man, sending him flying into a pile of crates.

Other men scurry to the fresh shipment of powerful weapons, hoping to wield one to defend themselves. Once they reach them though, they all levitate away from their grasp. The confused men look over at the Scarlet Witch as their weapons circle around her. She then launches them all at her foes, knocking them out with solids pounds to the head.

One soldier cusses out in German, trying to reload his gun. "Watch that potty mouth mister!" Spidey webbed his mouth shut and kicked him into another agent. He then stands with his fists on his hips, "I took German for a semester," followed by a pointing of his finger, "I know what you said."

"No wonder why Steve likes you so much." Natasha quipped out loud as she kneed a Hydra goon in the throat.

"Really Romanoff?" Rogers whined out as he flung his shield in midair. Natasha shoots him a cheeky smirk.

* * *

Outside, one of the Hydra jets crashes to the ocean. The other one chases after Rhodey. He lets out his flares to blind the bogie temporarily. He then makes a 360 turn and unleashed a flurry of armor piercing rounds from his shoulder-mounted machine gun. The exterior dents with bullet holes and the cockpit window cracks.

War Machine lands right on the nose of the bird. The pilot does a barrel roll, but it does not shake off the armored Avenger. He punches straight through the glass and rips out the seat, throwing out the pilot. The parachute activates in the distance as Rhodey flies under the belly of the jet.

Meanwhile, Falcon and Vision have arrived at the Quinjet. They safely put away the package. Wilson turns to the android. "I'll bring the bird around for a quick evac. You go join the fight." The Vision nods and flies out.

* * *

Back at the facility, the rest of the Avengers have cleared out the loading dock.

The Captain turns to Wanda. "How many more."

"Only a few, but they're trying to escape."

"We'll hunt them down. Lead the way."

They travel along the corridors of the base, taking down any stragglers. Out of the blue they catch a grey-haired man in a nice three-piece suit being escorted out at the end of the hall.

"Hey, isn't that one of our New York senators!?" Spider-Man points out.

"Hydra's still got itself some moles." Widow cocked her pistol.

Steve looks at them suspiciously. "What were they running from?"

The doors slide open and the security guards motion the senator to hurry inside. Spidey thwips a web onto the wall and propels himself at them. "I almost considered voting for you, you traitor!"

Steve calls out. "Spider-Man wait! Wait for us!"

Wanda was about to stop the senator dead in his tracks but she read something in the room beside them. She blasts open the doors, stepping into a control room. "No!" A guard punched down a red button, locking down their current sector.

Spidey made it passed the doors just before they shut closed. Cap and Widow arrive too late. Thicker steel doors suddenly drop down in front of them. Also behind them. They are trapped in this corridor.

After knocking out the guards, Wanda tries to pry open the heavy metal, but it is too thick. It will take too much time that they do not have. She turns to the computer panels. _Natasha? Natasha I need your help_.

_What is it? Where are you?_

_I'm in the room next to you. The man pressed a button that locked me in._

_You and us both._

_I'm at the computer. How do I reverse this?_

Widow walks over to the steel doors that Wanda is trapped behind. _Okay just pay close attention. I'll walk you through this_.

* * *

Around the outside perimeter of the base, the Vision uses his yellow energy beam to destroy all the mini jets before Hydra can get into them to escape the island. He takes care of any soldiers shooting at him, but he makes sure not to fatally wound them.

* * *

Inside a large red-lit room, Spidey webs down the guards that were escorting the senator. He slowly approaches the scared old man.

He then hears Steve's voice in his head. _Spider-Man._

_What's up, Cap?_

_I was trying to tell you that we could get some answers out of him._

_Oh! My bad._

_It's alright, son. Just tie him up for us. Widow will carry out the interrogation back at HQ_.

_Will do._

The New York senator has his back to the wall, looking petrified.

"Don't be scurred. I'm just your friendly neighborhood-"

"It's not you I'm scared of." He uttered in a trembling voice.

His spider-sense suddenly hits him like a migraine. "Look out!"

He tackles the senator down at the suppressed sound of sniper rifle. They landed behind some steel crates. The young hero lifts his head, seeing that he is okay. He then checks the man beneath him. "Oh no…"

A puddle of blood grows on the floor around the dead man's face. The bullet must have bounced off the wall and hit its target straight through the head. But at such an impossible angle…who on earth could have possibly made such a shot?

Spider-Man swings himself up to the rafters where the bullet originated from. He cuts off the assassin who was making his getaway, landing a few feet in front of him.

Spidey has seen a few dark things on his team-ups with Daredevil, but he never gets used to it. His tense nerves worsen with a shiver down his spine. He admits it to himself that he is a little intimidated by the man standing before him. If things do not go well, he is going to have to rely on his reflexes and hope to end this quick. Or else…he might not walk away from this confrontation.

The new Avenger clears his throat and cracks a Robocop reference to mask his hint of fear. "Murphy…it's you."

Spider-Man is face to face with the man who Steve told them about- the same man Natasha later gravely warned him about. The man who is credited with over a dozen assassinations. The man who for the longest time was considered a ghost story, because someone so terrifying could not possibly be real. The man who went toe to toe with Captain America and nearly killed him. The man Spider-Man has to face right now: James Buchanan Barnes…the Winter Soldier.

~to be continued...~


	7. You're An Avenger Now: Pt 3

**Synopsis: The Avengers prep for their first major mission with their newest recruit. Once they are out on the field, will they succeed or will more teamwork be needed?**

**A/N: I listened to the Winter Soldier's theme from the OST on repeat while writing this. It is definitely my favorite track.  
****Oh, &amp;I changed this yet again. Its a four-part short story now. I just don't like chapters that are too long. Last time I swear. Next will be the final part. Still, this and the One-Shot I will write after sort of serves as a fictional little prologue to Civil War.**

* * *

:You're An Avenger Now:  
[Part Three]

The sirens have ceased their deafening screeching. The base is left in its burning red tint. Two individuals who could not be any more different from one another are staring each other down. One is worried, preparing for the worst. The other is examining his foe, never breaking eye-contact, just as he was trained. One is young and new to everything but has the gifted abilities to react and adapt to whatever this line of work throws at him. The other is a seasoned warrior with the decades of hardened experience to think and fight his way out of any situation. Emotionally, both are strong but one has developed a moral center more spectacular than anyone his age could ever aspire to, while the other is…lost.

Only a mere few feet stands between them on the industrial catwalk up in the rafters. The lighting remains the same, illuminating the metallic environment in hellfire.

"Steve's here…" The boy got no reaction out of the Winter Solder.

"He said we might run into you. We had this whole important mission to accomplish, but I know the real reason Cap was so anal about this was because of you."

The man says nothing.

"He hasn't given up on you."

Still not a word.

The young hero tries to take a step forward, but immediately throws his hands up. Bucky had positioned his hand over his sidearm in the holster belted to his upper thigh. It was a fair warning, and the only one he was going to get.

Spider-Man mentally reaches out to Rogers. _Cap, I'm kinda in a sticky situation here._

_What is it?_ He answers from the corridor where he and Natasha are currently trapped in.

_I found your old pal Buck._

_Barnes!?_

_Yeah, he took down the Hydra senator. I couldn't save him._

_It's alright, son. Just…stay with him. We'll join you as soon as Widow gets us through the doors._ Rogers thinks about what Bucky just did. He assassinated a Hydra mole. His targets have changed. But was this out of revenge or doing the right thing?

Spidey focuses back to the problem in front of him. Despite what he just witnessed, he genuinely wants to help this man. If Captain America says he is good, then he has to be given a chance.

"Look, they told me what happened to you. I can't imagine-" He catches a slight snarling flare of the nostril from the man. With what horrors Hydra did to him, it is perfectly understandable to have bottled up hate. "But we can help you. Us, the team, the Avengers. And we got an awesome telepath who can really work some magic and get-" Spider-sense!

The Winter Soldier whipped out his sidearm and shot at Spider-Man, but the boy's reflexes saved him. The man utters out grimly. "Inside my head? No…never again."

Spidey groans, "Okay," and thwaps the barrel of the firearm, preventing the soldier from shooting another round.

Barnes drops the no longer useful weapon and quickly pulls out a semi-automatic. The new Avenger leaps around the bars of the rafters in a sprinting fashion, avoiding the bullets. _Cap! Your boy needs to chill!_

_What's happening?_

_Oh you know, I went in for a hug, he pulled out a gun._

_Just hang in there._ Cap turns to Widow, "We need to get through those doors, now."

Natasha cringes her face as if bothered and shushes him. "Shh! I'm trying to hear myself think." She continues her mental walkthrough with Wanda who is locked in the control room next door. _You with me so far?_

The Maximoff twin finishes pushing a sequence of specific buttons as instructed. _Yes, yes I did it. Now what?_

_Did a green loading bar pop up?_

_Yes._

_Okay, that's the override doing its thing. We're going to speed up the process._

_Alright._

_Punch in this combination as soon as I say it, timing is everything…_

* * *

Behind layers of thick steel, the intense fight continues up on the rafters. Spidey swings up high and when the bullets run out, he drops down. Bucky draws out a combat knife, slicing the boy's arm. Thankfully his new suit is quite resistant.

They are pressed close in fast paced hand to hand combat. The red and blue hero looks out for the sharp knife on one side and the bionic arm on the other, but cannot evade both. He gets nailed right in the ribs by the metal fist. A regular person would have had about three broken ribs, but not Spider-Man. He endured the painful blow and flips over behind the soldier. The man swings his knife around, aiming for the neck. But the boy leaned back and kicked the razor sharp weapon out of his hand with a backflip.

Barnes lunges in with his bionic arm. In that moment, Spidey thinks to himself: _I can end it right here. Don't take any chances. Just one solid punch to the face with all my superhuman strength, and BAM, K.O, done. But ugh I can't. His head could come right off. Don't hurt him too much, I gotta hold back. I gotta do it for Cap_.

Instead, he webs the modified arm and slides under the railing to the side. The Winter Soldier gets pulled down to all fours. The young hero swings up from the other side of the catwalk and lets go of his thread to shoot out more web, sticking both of the man's arms to the floor. He makes sure to add an extra amount on the metal one.

Spider-Man perches himself on the top railing. "I'm trying to help you here."

Yet with enhanced strength of his own, Bucky yanks his bionic arm right out of the thick layers and uses it to rip off the webbing suppressing his other hand.

Not many people can tear through his webbing. "Oh boy…"

Bucky flings out two daggers from his wrists, to which Spidey spun his body to narrowly evade them. Not even a foot away, he brings up another sidearm right to the Avenger's head.

The hero jerked to the side just as it fired. "Ahh!" The close shot rang in his ears, stunning him. He then suffers a direct knee to the gut and a precise uppercut from the metal arm that sent him flying back. Quickly recovering his senses, Spidey thwaps the gun aimed at him to the railing. As the relentless soldier tries to pull his glued hand free, the boy springs himself right up and pounces at his opponent. Only to be kicked right into the railing, breaking through it.

They both fall to the other industrial catwalk below them. They quickly get back on their feet. Bucky uses the iron bar glued to his hand from the broken railing to beat Spider-Man senseless with it.

"Ow, ow, oww!"

After taking a few hits and blocking a few others, Spidey grapples the metal arm and twists it. A few sparks fly out. He then turns his body to flip Bucky over his shoulder. Barnes lands with both feet planted on the ground though. The Winter Soldier then successfully brings the lean hero down and tries to lock him in a submission hold, but Spider-Man squirms out of it.

"Aww, so you are a hugger."

Barnes removes whatever webbing was still left on his hand, along with dropping the iron bar, and goes right after his target, dishing out a series of powerful kicks and punches. Spidey does his best to dodge and block, but gets hit a number of times. He has never had formal combat training before; just a few lessons from Daredevil, and a few sparring matches with Captain America. Bucky on the other hand was made into a weapon, having various fighting styles ingrained into his muscle memory. It comes just as natural to him as breathing.

They reach the steel dead-end of the catwalk. Barnes shoves Spider-Man to the wall, but the wall-crawler bounced off of it. Unfortunately, he was met with two bullets skinning his side. "Gahh! Like how many hidden guns do you have!?" He brings his fist down, knocking the handgun out of Bucky's hand. But he left himself open for a direct left hook to the jaw.

He definitely felt it. He can taste it. He is bleeding behind his mask.

Barnes grabs a hold of the kid's arm, snapping his wrist to prevent him from shooting anymore web from that hand. Another sharp scream escapes the boy. He jumps into the air, kicking the soldier across his face. Spidey then brings his fist down on the strong, metal attachment, denting the forearm. He then dropkicks him to get some distance between them. Spider-Man lands on the wall and Bucky tumbles over the ground but rolls onto his knee. The soldier breathes quite heavily. He did expect such a fight out of this colorful young hero.

"Man, I know you're misunderstood but have you ever tried therapy or like, I don't know, maybe NOT shooting people?" His spider-sense warns him to check his back. "What the-" A beeping sounds off behind him. Barnes had stuck a disk onto the small of is back. It spins rapidly, releasing a cloud of suffocating smoke around the hero.

Spider-Man collapses to the surface of the industrial catwalk from the wall he was planted on. The small disk falls off after it did what it was designed to do. Spidey coughs and coughs in the shroud of hazardous knockout gas. He gets up and flails his one abled hand, trying to wave the smoke away. The Winter Soldier sprints passed him and places his foot on the wall to launch himself off of it. He unloads the full force of his metal arm straight into the chest of his opponent, sending him several feet back.

A painful, elongated groan escaped the boy as he slid across the steel surface from the devastating punch that took the wind right out of him. His enhanced superhuman anatomy kept the mega hit from completely shattering his rib cage, and his superhuman physiology kept the smoke from actually knocking him out. But combined, it did take a lot out of him. He hears Cap's voice in his head. _Spider-Man? Status. What's going on in there?_

He remains flat on the ground. Even the voice of his thoughts sounds hurt and weary from battle. _Can't talk right now Cap, currently getting rekt…_

Behind the locked down corridor, Steve pounds his fist onto the wall. _Just hold on, son_. He whips his head around to Natasha. "Doors, now!"

Widow focuses on her connection with Wanda. "We're working on it!"

Back within the rafters, Spider-Man lifts himself up. The young hero is tired and broken and bleeding. Yet he makes one final attempt. As Bucky is running right at him, he shoots out a line of web. The man brings his damaged metal arm up to his face, blocking it. That is just what he wanted. Spidey pulls himself in, landing two solid kicks that knock his opponent back a step. But the Winter Soldier suddenly clutches onto Spider-Man's neck with his metal hand.

The death grip makes it difficult to breathe. Bucky then slams him to the ground. He brutally does so again, and again with the increased strength of his bionic arm. Spider-Man's body becomes limp with every brutal impact.

* * *

Inside the control room, Wanda presses one last key causing the red lights to fade back to normal and the heavy lockdown doors of their sector all to retract. "Done!"

She reunites with Natasha and Steve. Widow shoots her a smile. "See, wasn't so hard." Romanoff then turns to Steve. "Let's go get your sidekick."

The three rush out of the corridor.

The Winter Soldier holds a knife to Spider-Man's throat. The boy faintly utters out one more juvenile remark. "_You won't…no balls…_"

Bucky grits his teeth and pulls his blade back, ready to-

"Spider-Man!"

He hears Steve Rogers shout out from the floor level. Barnes brings himself up, and looks down over the railing. The two catch each other's eyes.

"_Oooo, you're in trouble._" The wounded boy quipped out.

Bucky throws his knife down. It stabs into the steal surface right beside Spidey's face. He let him live.

The Winter Soldier walks off, disappearing into the shadows.

The Scarlet Witch flies herself up to the rafters, bringing Steve and Natasha up with her, telekinetically. They set foot on the industrial catwalk. Cap and Widow drop to their knees around Spidey. Rogers asks him if he is alright while Romanoff detaches a small med kit from her back belt and begins going over all his wounds.

"_Your old friend packs more of a punch than you, Cap_." The boy joked.

The Captain turns to Wanda. "Go after him." She nods her head and runs off. With her abilities, she is the only person on the team who can bring him in without having to throw a single punch.

"What do we got?" Steve asks Widow.

She puts a square patch over the bloody tears on his side. "Two flesh wounds, a broken wrist, collapsed lung, I imagine some internal bleeding, and a severe concussion." Natasha leans over Spider-Man, holding her hand up in his face. "How many fingers am I holding?"

"_…are you an angel?_"

"Yep, he'll be fine." She finishes patching up his external wounds and injects him with something to stop further bleeding and get him back into fighting shape, at least temporarily until they can get off the island. It takes a short while to build effect.

Steve lifts Spidey up with the boy's arm over his shoulders. They walk out with Natasha taking the lead. Spider-Man mumbles something under his breath.

"What was that?" Rogers did not make out the whisper.

"_Sorry for letting you down, Cap._"

"Nonsense, don't even do that to yourself, son. You held your own. Besides, mission's not over yet."

* * *

A few sectors away, somewhere at the highest level of the building, Wanda finds herself in a dark, cryptic room. She looks over her shoulder at every tiny creek, every hasty set of footsteps, at every little sound. "I know you are here…"

She is not intimidated like the boy was. There is nothing left for her to fear. Her worst nightmare had already come to pass.

The witch grows impatient. She feels his presence but needs a clear sight to get a read on him. "I'm not like the others. Try something and it will not end well for you."

Moonlight from outside suddenly hits the side of her face. She turns to the swung open doors above her.

The Winter Soldier makes his escape. He is a bit bruised and his metallic limb has been severely damaged. He runs across the surface of the rooftop.

Wanda busts through the doors, "Nowhere to run." She shoots her hands out. Streams of red energy extend from her arms and reach the running assailant. The tendrils jam into his temples, penetrating the deepest corners of his mind. He stops in place, gripping onto his skull, and lets out a painful cry. Forgotten darkness was uncovered.

The witch's eyes widen at the overwhelming rush of painful memories. Memories of excruciating experimentation and cruel brainwashing. It was too much for her to bear. She screams in agony as her head whiplashes back, pulling away from the soldier's mind. Wanda falls to her knees, gripping onto her own head.

Bucky pants heavily and tries to shakes it off, slowly walking over to something. He presses a tiny remote device in his hand. A cloaked Shield jet reveals itself before him. Barnes must have salvaged it right after the final battle at the Triskelion to get away. He tiredly climbs on-board and slumps himself into the pilot seat. The jet takes off. It disappears into stealth mode again as it shoots into the cold night sky.

Floating high in the air was the Vision, who felt the invisible plane soar passed him, nearly hitting him. He darts his gaze to the rooftop, rotating his optics to zoom in on Wanda. The android chooses to fly to the hurting woman than to chase after the escaping jet.

* * *

Widow, Cap, and Spidey arrive at the rooftop. Spider-Man is able to walk on his own now. He even made himself an arm brace out of web to carry his broken wrist in place. They rush over to the Scarlet Witch, reaching her at the same time as Vision. She whimpers, trying to recover from the mental whiplash. The caped Avenger joins her on the ground, laying a comforting touch on her thigh and back. "Are you alright?"

"What happened?" Steve asked right after.

She groans, starting to reclaim her thoughts. "His mind…all that pain…"

"He got away." Cap sighed up into the sky.

"He always does." Widow added.

Vision helps Wanda up to feet. "The important thing is that Wanda will be just fine." He stated as if correcting them.

"No one's arguing that." Steve replied to assure him.

Spider-Man coughs loudly to get everyone's attention. "And Spidey will be just fine too, yaayyyy…"

Rogers asks Wanda. "Can you get our link back up?"

She nods. "Yes,"

Right at that moment, Sam informs everyone mentally. _Guys, I'm bringing the bird in for extraction. And heads up, something big is coming your way_.

_Copy that_. Rogers responded. _Any idea what it is, exactly?_

The boy's spider-sense goes off. "We're about to find out."

Then they feel the building shake as loud thumps make their way up the side of the base. After a steady continuation of thumps get closer, the heavy object starts to sound mechanical. Then a large robotic, car-sized hand grips onto the edge of the rooftop, cracking the structure, and lifts itself up. Two hefty, mechanized paws stomp onto the surface of the rooftop. Deep technological sounds rev up and click into gear. Green lights shine down on the speechless heroes. Before the Avengers stands a 20ft tall, fully weaponized, grey and emerald steeled mech.

~to be continued...~


	8. You're An Avenger Now: Pt 4

**Synopsis: The Avengers prep for their first major mission with their newest recruit. Once they are out on the field, will they succeed or will more teamwork be needed?**

**A/N: Final Part. I threw in one of my utmost favorite Cap lines between him and Spider-Man even though it does not carry the same emotional weight as it did in the books.  
I chose not to describe the physical appearance of the mech in detail, because it wasn't important and I wanted to leave it open to imagination.  
My bad for any grammatical errors.  
****This four-parter served as a fictional little prologue to Civil War. Next will be a one-shot between Tony and Spidey that will also be sort of a fake prologue to the Civil War film.**

* * *

:You're An Avenger Now:  
[Part Four]

Giant railguns and shoulder-mounted cannons aim down at the Avengers.

"Now we gotta deal with a Gundam!?" Spider-Man blurted out in surprise.

Vision makes the first move, flying in with both fists punched out. But the mech shot him out of the battle with a violet photon blast.

Wanda cried out for him, but the long railguns begin to rev up. "Wanda!" Cap shouted. She lifted her hands, stopping the swarm of bullets with an energy barrier. The rest of the team was covered behind her, but not for long.

The machine stepped forward, unleashing more rounds from its gauntlets. "I…can't hold it!" Wanda groaned out.

Steve and Natasha glance at each other to give a brief nod. Years of working together has strengthened their effectiveness out on the field. They sprint to opposite sides around Wanda's red energy wall. Widow flings an EMP dart, temporarily disabling the mech suit's whole arm. She was hoping it would fry the entire body, but good enough. The Captain then dives in, bashing his shield behind its leg joint.

With one railgun nonfunctional and being down on one knee, Wanda feels the overwhelming firepower stop. She pushes forward her red aura as an attack. The 20ft mech topples over, but repulsor engines on its back activate. It recovers and slams its vibrating fist to the surface, sending out a shock wave. The blast knocked back everyone except Spider-Man –he leaped high enough to avoid the radius.

Spidey lands next to his mentor. "What do I do, Cap?" He helps him up to his feet.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm not the one who fell on my bum." The boy quipped back lightly.

"Then keep that thing distracted."

"Aye aye, captain," He saluted with his able hand, then jumped into the fight.

The giant mech was about to shoot at Widow, but Spidey swung in to kick the hand away from its locked on target. Wanda steps in to keep the machine's legs telekinetically stuck to the surface. She holds it, but the robot spins around from its waist instead to keep track of the agile arachnid.

"So giant killer robots, this is normal to you guys?" He asks as he bounces off of the mech from one angle to another.

"You get used to it fairly quickly." The Widow responded nonchalantly and chucked him a grenade. Spidey caught it with a line of web and slammed it into the robot's chest. The explosion wrecked the photon canons.

"Besides, we've fought bigger." Cap joined in as he deflected a missile.

"Hulk?" Wanda asked as she yanked the heavy machine down from its feet.

"No honey, even bigger." Romanoff said as she made her way to the Scarlet Witch's side.

"You don't say." Wanda turns to Natasha after seeing Cap and Spidey teaming up on the fallen mech suit.

"Yeah…" Widow says nodding her head as she reminisces over the first alien leviathan she ever saw. "It was quite a party." She then calls over to her partner. "Ain't that right, Rogers?"

The living legend slices his shield through the missile launcher mounted on the killing machine's back shoulder. "Not exactly my favorite kind of party to be honest."

Spider-Man rips off a railgun with his pure strength. "What, you more of a karaoke kinda guy?"

The two women jog in. Natasha chuckles. "Hah, please. Cap's more of a sitting around, listening to classical jazz kinda guy."

"Really? Hey, I love jazz." Spidey proclaims as he dodges a laser beam.

Wanda looks at Natasha to tell her softly. "Of course he does." Just between them, they share an amusing little smile. Both understand that the boy will say anything to kiss up to his hero.

The mech then backhands Rogers over to the edge, and catches Spider-Man with the other. The titanium grip tightens around the boy's entire torso. He pounds down on the metallic fist, but with only one working arm, he cannot squirm free. "Ugh! Knock, knock? Anyone in there?"

Wanda and Widow move in to help but a burning hot repulsor blast from the other palm knocks them both back.

Rogers sprints in, "Spider-Man!" and tosses him his shield. Spidey catches it with his free hand, and brings it down with all his might. In three loud bashes the mech suit's hand gets completely cut off, releasing the young hero of the bone crushing clutch.

He returns the shield. "Thanks, Cap!"

Steve catches it in midair and spins to launch it into the robot's chest plate. Spidey leaps on, using the shield to prying open the inches of blended metals. Wanda uses her abilities to keep the machine's arms restrained. Steve and Natasha form up on her.

"Let's see what do we have here…" Spider-Man breaks through the hull of the suit, only to find it empty. "Huh? No Shinji?" Pulls out the shield and turns back to the team. "Guys, there's no pilot!" He flips off of it, joining his teammates.

"Then don't hold anything back." Rogers ordered grimly.

Wanda yells out as she completely rips off the arms of the mechanical menace with her telekinesis.

About to lose, the machine activates an ear rupturing sonic boom as its last resort. The sound wave scrambles Wanda's brain, bringing her and everyone else down to their knees with their hands clamped onto their ears. They all scream in pain, unable to think, let alone fight back.

As the giant mech steps toward them, the Quinjet suddenly arrives to their rescue. Sam Wilson unloads heavy armor piercing rounds onto the target. The weaponized sound wave stops, and the machine turns its attention to the jet. Sam does not let up. He holds onto the triggers until the bird runs out of ammo.

The Avengers on the rooftop recover. Natasha helps Wanda up, and shouts out to Falcon in a scolding manner. "Sam! What do you think you're doing!?"

The speakers of the Quinjet sound off. "Saving your ungrateful selves. What does it look like?"

Steve picks his shield up, informing his friend in a less aggressive tone. "Watch the Quinjet, that's our ticket home!"

About a dozen heat seeking missiles fire from the mech's back socket. Sam pulls the bird up in a panic. "Oh crap!" He flies the plane into the highest reaches of the sky. Wilson caused a few to implode into each other by performing a spiraling technique. When the jet adjusts, he makes a sharp turn to avert a few more. Unfortunately they are locked on and come right back for him.

Just as he is about to get hit, the missiles explode before making impact. They were taken down by a thin, yellow laser beam. This time to his rescue came the Vision. Soaring gracefully through the night, he shoots down all the remaining heat seekers.

On the surface of the rooftop Wanda mentally picks up someone trying to reach them. She reopens the team's mind link.

_Someone need a generous care package?_

They all look up to the sight of the grey armored Avenger diving down fast, carrying a burning Hydra jet. _Careful, it's hot._

Cap and the others quickly move clear. War Machine throws down the military aircraft right onto the unmanned mech suit. KABOOM! A fireball of scorching orange and yellow shoots into the sky along with chunks of metal debris. The explosion shook the rooftop. Then it began to crumble.

Luckily Falcon had already brought the bird down all the way on the other side of the building. The rest of the Avengers climbed on in. Everyone except for Spider-Man.

"C'mon get in!" Natasha barked at him.

But as the rooftop began to cave into the base, he was drawn to something. It wasn't his spider-sense guiding him. It was something he just always instinctively had to do. He lifts up his index finger for her to wait. "Hold that thought…" Taking a step to look into the large cracked hole in the roof, he sees unarmed Hydra personnel trapped down below. He sees what he must do.

Spidey leaps right into the decaying, burning building. The Quinjet flies overhead to get a clear sight of him. As he jumped down, a massive half of the fighter jet comes falling down. It falls right passed him, crashing through the floors. He knows this will not be easy –especially with only one working hand- but he webs on. Elaborately bouncing off of a wall, onto the descending wreckage, and off of another wall, Spider-Man manages to create a wide net. This sturdy net of his webs slow the massive chunk of the jet to a full stop.

The red and blue hero then lands on the floor with the trapped personnel. As the upper half of the base continues to crumble, the net above their heads creaks, threatening to break and crush them all. Little bits of fiery debris fall through the gaps of the web. Spidey kicks down the locked doors. "Everybody out! Single file, please-" They all just rush out in a disorganized hurry. "Or…whatever."

He exits right after everyone else is outside. His net breaks. The remains of the plane and the rest of the debris from the roof come crashing down.

From the Quinjet hovering above, Steve asks Vision as they stare down at the demolished base. "Was anyone else left in the building?"

The android confirms. "No."

A proud smile forms on Cap's face.

Spider-Man just saved all those people without even the slightest of hesitations. A quarter of the secret base is completely destroyed, the giant mech is blown to bits, the vibranium is in their possession, and the extra Intel was recovered. Sam brings the bird in low for Spidey to swing onboard. Angry, ungrateful Hydra members shout and cuss them out as the Avengers fly off, leaving an overall successful mission behind.

* * *

Within the Quinjet, the team relaxes. Falcon sets course, flips on the autopilot, and walks over to everyone. "Just called Hill. She already sent in a cleanup crew to pick up the garbage." Steve and Natasha nod contently. Sam then notices Spidey removing his web-arm brace. "Better already?" he asks.

The boy slowly rotates his wrist, and clenches his hand into a fist. "Yeah, I heal fast."

Romanoff walks by. "So what was with the stupidly selfless act back there?"

"What, the guys?" He sits back in his seat and answers genuinely. "I don't know…I was standing there, saw what was going to happen; had to do something. It was just the right thing to do, even if it was for the wrong people."

The rest of the Avengers gaze down at the young hero in subtly profound amazement. "Our 'stupidly selfless acts' are what make us better than them." He then asks the master spy/assassin. "You telling me you wouldn't have done the same?"

"For them?" She answers bluntly, "No," and takes a knee in front of him to check his bullet wounds. "For you?" After seeing that his flesh is pretty much back to normal, she looks up at him, giving a shrug and a cute yet wicked smirk. "Maybe," the Black Widow then walks over to a distant computer monitor.

When she's gone, Spidey looks over to the rest of the team. "She scares me."

Smiles crack over all their faces. Sam nudges Steve's arm. With no words, just brief looks, they carry out small exchanges. Wilson expressing, _He's great, you made the right call adding this kid to the team_; and Steve nodding, _I know…He really is isn't he_? Sam nods, _yeah_, and pats his friend's back. He walks over to his station in the corner to remove plates of his suit.

Vision was standing beside Wanda, whom was sitting across from the Spider. He steps up to speak with Captain Rogers. "That heavily armored machine…"

"Clearly a mech suit, but no pilot. Autonomous? Remote controlled?"

"I did not pick up a signal."

"Well it was what was in the shipping container. The last weapon they were trafficking in."

Rhodey apologizes. "Sorry I didn't warn you guys from the jump. The fighter jets kept me occupied. I never even saw it break out of the container."

Steve settles his understandable mistake to ease. "It's alright. We fared just fine, and you ended up taking care of it."

Vision adds. "This could bring up concerns. It had the firepower to take me out of the battle. There could have been more of them manufactured."

"Or it could have been just a prototype?" Rhodes suggests.

Steve rubs his chin. "One or many, either way it was a dangerous weapon capable of causing mass destruction. Then there's the vibranium."

Rhodey's eyes widen at the worrisome thought. "Future models of those things built with the most impervious substance on the planet…"

"They would be unstoppable." The android concluded.

Steve stares over at the case of vibranium. "We won't let that happen. We'll keep our eyes and ears open."

The Vision nods. At taking the first steps back to Wanda, his cape suddenly twirls to face back to the first Avenger. "Oh and Captain?"

"Yeah?"

He asks in his sincerely polite tone. "You ran into your old friend, Bucky?"

"We did…" He crosses his arms.

"There's one thing I don't quite understand," Vision switches his attention to the new recruit. "With your superhuman abilities, the odds fell in your favor to come out victorious. Why did you not?"

The boy responds with a cocky excuse to mask his pride. "Uh…because I was going easy on him, sheesh."

Rhodey scoffs. "Yeah, okay kid-"

"He's telling the truth," Wanda cut in. She stares at the young spider with fascination. "Why did you?"

"I…" Everyone stares at him in confusion. "I've always sort of held back when punching out street thugs or fighting my silly supervillains." He looks down at his hands. "It's barely been like a year. I'm still new to this, haven't really had the chance to test my limits. I can make great leaps, crawl up walls, sense any dangers, and toss a car. Sure, that much I know, but when pushed…who knows."

The Vision chimes in. "And you're only young. My scans predict your powers will grow as you reach the peak of adulthood."

"Exactly! And um, thanks for scanning me, creep. But anyways, the job was to bring Bucky in. I didn't want to accidentally snap his neck with one wrong punch, so I tried to hold back and restrain him. Instead, I was the one who came out with the broken bones...I'm no highly trained soldier." He finishes his monologue with one of his senseless remarks. "And man, I thought Hulk was supposed to be the one with violent anger issues?"

"Steve…" Wanda recalls what horrors she felt when she merely took a peek inside Bucky's mind. "His anger, his pain, your shared past...I understand why he's important to you. He needs our help." They exchange comforting expressions.

Rhodey suggests to Spider-Man before heading into the cockpit. "You ever need a sparring partner to push you to your limits, just hit me up. I'm always happy to armor up and knock you around."

The boy smiles up at him, recalling his first training exercise when he officially joined the New Avengers. The training exercise in which he took on everyone. "Yeah 'cause that worked out so well for you last time."

Rhodes chuckled. "Shut up."

"Heheh,"

Captain Rogers then sits beside the new recruit. "About Bucky…don't blame yourself for him getting away."

"Force of habit."

"Habits can change. Overall assessment for tonight's mission, you passed with flying colors. Remarkable."

"You mean _spectacular_?"

He chuckles, "Stop that."

"Yes sir."

"But there was one thing."

"Yeah?"

"You cannot just jump the gun like you did when you went after the senator. It's what got us all separated. "

Spidey drops his head in shame. "My bad about that…"

"What makes us a unit is our teamwork. We wait for each other's further orders. We communicate with one another. Just like how we took down that Hydra bot on the rooftop. We did it by working together."

"Yeah…smashing it with a plane works too."

Cap looks away to laugh. "That it does. But…" He looks back to Spider-Man. "In the end, we accomplish the mission only as a team."

"So, to sum up my whole first field op…I started off good, then slipped up in the middle, but recovered at the last part?"

"Pretty much."

"Awesome."

Captain America sets his hand on Spider-Man's shoulder. "I know you're more accustomed to operating solo, but tonight you proved yourself to be part of the team. There's still plenty of room for improvement, but you've shown you can adapt. And what you did back there, saving all those people, you jumped right into the fire –severe injuries and all- without even hesitating. When you grow up, you're going to be the best out of all of us. You're just what this new team needs. You're an Avenger, now."

This is another example of Spidey thanking god that Rogers cannot see through his mask. Warmth forms across his inspired face as he admires his mentor, his hero.

Natasha then interrupts their tender moment. "Hey Rogers, come take a look at this." He gets up to meet her at the computer monitor.

Wanda squints over at Spider-Man. "Are you crying?"

Spidey pretends to wipe off tears, whimpering "no!"

* * *

"What is it?" Steve stepped beside her, crossing his arms over his chest. Sam walks in behind them to observe as well.

Romanoff opens up a window on the screen. "Apparently…"

She had inserted the drive into the computer. All the extracted Intel was displayed onscreen. Steve, Sam, and Natasha all stare pensively at the monitor. A satellite image of the globe zoomed down, pinpointing a blinking dot marking somewhere in the central region of Africa. Bios and confidential file tabs are spread around the designated location.

"…it's our next mission."

~The End~


	9. Post Credit Scenes Vol I

Mid/End Credit Scenes Vol. I

[End Credits for Avengers Age of Ultron]

Shot is set in front of a closed office door, slowing panning in. An angry voice rants on from behind this door.

"Ugh, here we go again. Avengers this, Avengers that. What did they do this time!? Oh, fight an army of robots. First time around they fought off an army of aliens. What's next!? An army of the undead!? This played out nonsense already fills up every facet of entertainment, now we gotta call it _real_ news!?"

Shot reaches through the door. Now the backs of three individuals are shown; two men and one female. They stand in front of the loud man behind his large desk who is shouting at them—he is still not fully visible for the people professionally dressed are blocking the view. The clear, morning skyline of New York is seen out the windows. The shot continues to slowly pan between the people.

"_Sokovia_, Hah! Who cares! What about the stories happening right here in this great city of ours. What about that new character in town!?"

The female voice butts in nervously, "Sir, he's just a myth-"

"He's REAL, Miss Brant! I've seen him with my own two eyes! And it's about time the public knows about him too. That's the story we run with! That's what the people want!"

Puffs of smoke floats up to the ceiling.

"So get me proof! Get me interviews! Hell, get me a new photographer to get me pictures!"

Cuts to the surface of the desk as a fist slams onto it. Camera whips up to reveal J.K Simons reprising his role as J. Jonah Jameson. Pulling the fat cigar out of his mouth, he points his finger at his employees, yelling out with such red-faced intensity.

"Get me, **SPIDER-MAN!**"

* * *

[Mid credits for a future MCU movie, probably Spider-Man or Ant-Man sequel]

Ant-Man stands on a flat surface. Dust particles float around and the background is out of focus—he is clearly shrunken. He crosses his arms, being extremely annoyed as a sizzling shroud of mist envelops him.

"Could you not."

Camera whips back, revealing Spider-Man unloading a can of bug spray onto the little guy.

Spidey states grimly, "There can only be one."

* * *

[Type of scene I wish would be in Civil War]

In some unknown, broken-down location. Steve Rogers, Sam Wilson, and Scott Lang stand around, figuring out their next move.

"Thanks for the assist." Sam said.

"No problem. Thanks for not trying to step on me this time."

Steve had his mind on their dire situation. "Our allies are behind special bars now, some awaiting trial. We need to come up with something fast."

"Can't exactly call Stark." Sam pointed out.

"No…that ship has sailed."

"Bad breakup?" Scott asked.

Steve gave him a look.

"Scott, don't." Sam told him.

Lang brought up his hands in apology.

Sam directed back to Steve. "Least Barton's onboard. Maybe he can help us bust our friends out."

"That'll only make things worse."

The ex-con had an idea. "Then how about we fight the system within the system…"

The other two look at him, perplexed but intrigued.

"What did you have in mind?" Steve asked.

"Some are still awaiting trial, right? And media's all over everything you do so let's try to bail 'em out fair and square. We won't partake obviously, but I happen to know of a guy."

Sam rolls his eyes. "The doctor who got you out? I don't think your rich white friend is gonna jump at the opportunity to help us."

Steve adds on. "Yeah, from what I've heard, Dr. Pym isn't exactly the biggest fan of the Avengers."

"I'm not talking about Hank." He smirked. "There's this local guy who can defend us in the court of law—two guys actually. I've never met 'em personally but they've gotten some of my old buddies out of tight situations. They're still pretty new on the scene, but they've got a solid track record."

Steve and Sam look at each other, uncertain about this.

"C'mon, did I mention they're fans of heroes. I'm sure they'll be more than willing to help out _Captain America_."

There's a brief moment of silence as Steve grows more comfortable with the idea.

Scott lands his final offer. "I got their card, so…should I make the call?"

::

Over in Hell's Kitchen at the law firm of Nelson and Murdock, Foggy and Karen barge into Matt's office.

"Matt!"

"You're not going to believe who we just got off the phone with!" Foggy exclaimed

"Actually," Karen admitted, "We don't really know who it was, but-"

Murdock chuckled charmingly, "I know, I know…" He stood up from his desk, grabbing his walking stick. "Forgive me, I couldn't help but to eavesdrop on the conversation."

Foggy brushed his hair back in disbelief. "Oh man, this is huge. What are we going to? I mean—everything going on in congress right now…We're gonna, PHEW-"

As he respires heavily, Karen lays her hands on him, calming him down. "It's okay, breathe."

"Yeah, no. I'm alright. I'm cool." Yes, he freaked out about the once in a life time opportunity for their firm, but he was mainly concerned with how this new law would affect Matt's secret.

Karen looks to Murdock. "So what are we gonna do?"

He smiles calmly. "What we always do…" Matt Murdock stands before his closest friends, their faces reflecting in his devil-red lenses. "The good guys need our help, so the way I see it… We're taking the case."

* * *

[Preferred mid credits for Age of Ultron]

After the mid credits, screen goes quiet and fades back to Cap and Widow on the interior balcony looking over the New Avengers. All assemble below, the new members look up to their Captain as he is about to say…

"**Avengers**… Asse-"

_BAM_!

Suddenly interrupted, they all dart their gaze over to the right-wing door. Someone banged against it. It slides open, revealing an empty corridor. No one is at the door. But then…

Slowly coming down from the ceiling by a thread of web is none other than Spider-Man. Everyone has different, subtle reactions to the surprise appearance. Hanging upside-down, the boy shyly begins to wave hello, apologetically saying to the group.

"Sorry I'm late."

* * *

**A/N: These were all just fun little idea's I had for post credit stingers (Except for one). Will upload more later on when more ideas come to mind.  
****Also, who saw Ant-Man? Feel free to PM what you thought on the movie.**


	10. Will It Be Worth It?

**A/N: My bad for not posting in a while. I am currently without my laptop because GeekSquad sucks. Anyways I've deleted most of _Road to Civil War_, because after rereading it, you guys were right. Several people were written out of character and I sort of retconned my very first one-shot. This is fanfiction. There is no need to stress out about fitting your work into the actual canon. This is meant to be fun and to creatively do what you wish with the characters you love.**

**I should be getting my laptop soon so I can start writing again. I've got interesting ideas. Also I decided to edit and revise this particular part that many of you have already read before. It's the heated dialogue between Spidey and Tony. I'm proud of the references I got right long before all the later footage description and casting details and what not. Looking forward to this Civil War movie. Rumor is the trailer will drop with the release of _Spectre_.**

**Anyways, for the new readers. I hope you enjoy this short!**

* * *

Will It Be Worth It?

Int. Stark Tower, Workshop Level – Afternoon

Tony flips through the 3D schematics of his new armor, making changes as he sees fit. His new A.I program assists him with the design and other suggestions.

F.R.I.D.A.Y: "What are you planning on calling it?"

Tony: "I don't know, something cool like – (says with pizazz) _Bleeding Edge_."

F.R.I.D.A.Y: "Sounds a bit adolescent for my liking."

Tony: "Always gotta hit me with your opinions."

F.R.I.D.A.Y: "It's what you created me for, boss."

Tony: "Yeah well, I already got Pepper to bust my chops. You know J.A.R.V.I.S. never talked back to me as much as you did."

F.R.I.D.A.Y (sarcastically): "Wow that really hurts."

Tony: "There's totally a heartfelt bond here, I can feel it in my tingly bits."

F.R.I.D.A.Y: "That makes one of us."

Tony: "Out of all the personality traits to embrace and you chose to be salty."

F.R.I.D.A.Y: "Can't help it. I was _programmed_ this way."

Tony: "God I love you."

F.R.I.D.A.Y: "You have a visitor."

Tony: "What?"

BAM! Something slams against the window right outside his workspace.

Tony: "JESUS!"

Knocking over tools, he jumps around to see Spider-Man planted on the glass, waving hello.

Tony (grasping onto his chest): "Warn a guy next time would ya."

F.R.I.D.A.Y (holding back a mean remark): "I-I'll remember to do that, boss."

Spidey (banging on the glass): "You gonna let me in?"

Tony walks over to the window, gesturing for F.R.I.D.A.Y to let in their guest.

Tony: "Darling, you if would be so kind…"

The window rotates open and Spidey slides in.

Tony (pats his back): "How's it goin, kid."

Spidey: "Hey."

Tony: "What brings you to my domain?"

Spidey: "You invited me over remember…"

Tony (baffled): "…?"

Spidey: "Like two days ago. Over text…"

Tony (looks up): "F.R.I.D.A.Y did I?"

F.R.I.D.A.Y (reaffirming): "That you did, boss."

Tony: "Oh…how about that."

Spidey: "Man you're getting old."

Tony grins. He enjoys finally having someone with equal wit to bounce off of. He leads him into his workshop. He can't help but look over his new costume, critiquing it from head to toe.

Tony: "Come on in, neat new threads by the way."

Spidey: "Thanks. Dudes at the base cooked it up. Way more comfy."

Tony: "You know if you ever want to try something a little more, I don't know, competent. I'd be more than happy to make ya something."

Spidey: "Heh, that'd be awesome it would, but I'm good."

Tony: "You can be better. _Amazing_ –no wait- _Sensational_! How about?-"

Spidey: "_Spectacular_."

Tony (going on with excessive hand gestures): "Yes! _**Spectacular**_, I like that. Gimme a shot, whataya say? Let's ditch the cliché red and blue and go for more red and gold. Add in some of my tech, a blend of lightweight tungsten with Nano fibers- no wait, **Vibranium**. If I can get my hands of more of it. Give you some sharp extra arms, some repulsor beams –what do spiders have? Oh, some venom blasts! (Then uttering more to himself) That'll top Widow's little bee sting or whatever it is she has."

Spidey (chuckles): "Chill baby, chill! I said I'm good."

Tony: "It just pains me to see you out in public like that. If you ever want an upgrade, (pats himself on the chest) I'm your guy."

Spidey: "I'll keep that in mind."

Wandering the workspace, Spidey admires the 3D model of the new armor.

Spidey: "Cool new suit."

Tony: "I know. I'm thinking of calling it my _Bleeding Edge _Armor."

Spidey (impressed): "Even cooler, I like it."

F.R.I.D.A.Y: "Of course he would."

Tony (snaps at the air): "No one asked you, F.R.I.D.A.Y."

F.R.I.D.A.Y: "My apologies, forgot a girl wasn't allowed to voice her own opinions."

Tony: "You starting this again? Now? Really? We have a guest."

The teenage hero laughs. Just from her tone, Spidey could tell that if she had a visible face, she would be smiling oh so smugly.

F.R.I.D.A.Y: "My, where are my manners? I'll go ahead and leave you two alone."

Spidey: "She seems nice."

Tony shrugs and grumbles profanities under his breath as he closes his armor's schematics.

F.R.I.D.A.Y: "I heard that."

Tony (tossing his arms in the air): "Could you stop!?"

F.R.I.D.A.Y: "Love you, boss."

F.R.I.D.A.Y leaves for good this time. Spidey couldn't help but crack up. Tony flips through his digital files on his touchscreen desk, searching for a specific one.

Tony: "Swear I have too many women in my life now."

Spider-Man controls himself and pretends to wipe a tear from laughing too hard.

Spidey: "Ho man, I needed that. So…what did you want to see me about? Or did you forget that too?"

Tony: "No, no, I got it, just one sec- ah, here it is."

Stark pulls out the file he was looking for. A large document fizzes into clarity before him, and he moves the hologram over in front of the boy. It looks to be a classified government document. Tony begins to explain with on hand comfortably in his pocket.

Tony: "I've been meeting with this senator, real hobbit-looking fella, but we quickly became buddies. Anyways, he presented quite an interesting thing to me. (Pointing to the document in between them) This here idea. More of a plan, really."

Spidey flips the digital page.

Tony: "It's not finished yet, obviously. This is just an outline, bullet points-"

Spider-Man reads the big bolded title in front of him.

Spidey: "_The Superhuman Registration Act…_"

* * *

Spidey: "…_wow_…"

The young hero read through what was available on the Act.

Tony: "I know."

Spidey: "I mean, like…**wow**!"

Tony (starts pacing around the room): "Yep. So, come on, hit me. Thoughts, comments, concerns?"

Spidey: "Yeah…_**a few**_ (understatement). They're honestly thinking of going with this?"

Tony (twirling around a thin tool in his hand): "It's a precaution, for now. They needed a contingency plan at the ready."

Spidey: "Ready in case of what?"

Tony: "In case another disaster like South Africa happens. And trust me this was the friendliest outta the bunch. Monitoring super humans, way better deal on the table than what General Ross kept proposing."

Spidey: "_Who_?"

Tony: "Doesn't matter. Look-"

Spidey: "**Wait**, the government had _**other**_ alternatives? Like what?"

Tony (grimly): "You don't wanna know."

Spidey: "…uh okay but…what are _your_ two cents on this?"

Tony (walks around the table towards the boy): "Honestly? After some revisions and tweaks, this bill is something I can get behind."

Spidey: "Seriously?"

Tony: "Yeah, why not?"

Spidey: "Why not? How about **why**, like, ever?"

Tony (stands in front of him): "The paycheck for one. What are you, not even driving age right?"

Spidey: "I'm a New Yorker. Don't need a car. Besides I got my own mode of transportation."

Tony: "Not the point. What's the point? Here's the point. You risk your life for this city every day. So do the proper boys in blue. Now **you** can be legally _deputized_, so to speak. Get compensated for your heroic troubles. Beats any minimum wage gig you ever had."

Spidey: "I already get a generous monthly salary with the Avengers."

Tony: "Missing the point again. Look, forget the money. Think about going legit. We're talking about full-fledged Superheroes that people can look to with trust and feel safe. Don't you want that? No more bad press from the Bugle. No more being a '_menace'_."

Spidey: "I hardly think tossing me under the spotlight will make the public fall in love with me."

Tony: "Why wouldn't they? New players like you are popping up every week now. Let's have them officially instated, and fully trained to go out on the field."

Spidey: "By who? Who can possibly train super humans? The _government_?"

Tony: "No, **us**. New blood trained by the top dogs, themselves. The squad that started it all."

Spidey: "The Avengers,"

Tony (pats the kid's chest with his back hand): "Yes! Once I get congress to implement the changes, I'll get the old team onboard, and think of all the good we can do."

Spidey: "You haven't thought this all the way through have you?"

Tony: "Of course I have-"

Spidey (cuts him off): "Clearly you haven't, because there's just no way, **no** **way** that…"

Tony: "What?"

Spidey (Rubs his forehead, stressed): "…Cap would never go for this."

Tony: "…why do you think I'm showing you first?"

Spidey (puts two and two together): "This is why you called me over here? To get me behind this, so I can convince Cap to do the same."

Tony: "We all know he's got a soft spot for you. You're basically his sidekick. He'll hear you out."

Spidey: "No, he'd talk some sense into me. Tony, c'mon man, think of the worst case scenario."

Tony: "The **only** worst case scenario is if we don't go with _this_. I'm trying to **save** us here!"

Spidey (snaps): "But at what cost!? Did you ever stop to think about what would _**really**_ happen to guys like _**me**_ if we register?"

Tony: "…?"

Spidey (rants): "I know the high rolling Avengers up here can't even grasp the concept of a secret identity, but I have **friends** down there – (points down the window to the streets of NY) **good** people- who wear a mask to keep their loved ones safe. M**e** included!"

Tony (trying to calm him down): "Kid I-"

Spidey (rant on with aggressive hand gestures and body language): "Forcing us to register would leave us exposed –**vulnerable**. We have a list of enemies longer than your dating history. They would come after what little we have left in order to get to **us**. And you should now all about that mister, '_I am Iron Man'._ How many times have the bad guys come knocking on your door? How many times has Pepper been in danger simply because you couldn't keep your mouth sealed for a second? And I thought I was supposed to be the one who never shuts up. I mean, who the hell tells the **terrorists** their home address on national **television**!?"

Tony (lifting a finger): "Okay…that was harsh."

Spidey: "Too personal?"

Tony (wincing): "Just a tad bit."

Spidey (collects himself): "Listen, I get that you have the best intentions, but you know where that road leads."

Tony: "This is different."

Spidey: "How? How is it this at all different?"

Tony (loudly): "**This isn't Ultr**—"

He clenches a first and shuts his eyes, keeping his cool.

Tony (calmly): "This isn't some _bugged out_ program."

Spidey: "_Noice_,"

Tony: "This is a chance to change the template. Set a better example that will pave the way to a better world. A safer world where people can look up to the sky and not be afraid of who or what might come smashing down. They'll know that there are heroes, **proper** heroes watching over them on their way to work, to school, back home."

Spidey (shaking his head): "Same old song, just a different tune."

Tony (guiltily): "We've screwed up too many times-"

Spidey: "_We_?"

Tony (admits): "**I**, I've screwed up too many times."

Spidey: "I'll say. Why on earth would you even think it was a brilliant idea to create a highly advanced artificial intelligence? Haven't you seen like any sci-fi movie, **ever**?"

Tony (dismisses his smartass remark): "Something had to be done. Something always has to be done! I can't rest and put away the suit for good until I know that the **world** is _**good**_. I need to know that I'm leaving behind a brighter tomorrow.

Spidey (sighs): "Tony-"

Tony (passionately): "This Act came along and I reacted. I'm making the best out of a bad situation, for the sake of all of us. So that the government doesn't come hunting us down with everything they got! So that civilians aren't terrified when they see a new enhanced pop up. They'll know if we're friend or foe; they'll know who we are and what we can do. After all we've put them through, don't they deserve that much?"

Spidey: "Don't strive to clear your conscience at the expense of the rest of us."

Tony: "I'm not the one being a selfish millennial here."

Spidey (offended): "Say what now?"

Tony: "What can any of our enemies possibly do against all of us combined with the State backing us up? Our friends and family will be protected, think of it as the greatest insurance coverage they can have. Our work won't follow us home this time."

Spidey: "Wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D. the reason the Avengers assembled in the first place? They were backing you guys up. They were your safety net. Best of the best. Yet it all came crumbling down."

Tony: "That was a secret, shady as all can be organization. I'm talking about no more secrets. No more games. Just all of us and the intelligence agencies involved with this Act on the same page for once. We'll establish regulated policies that will benefit both us and the American people."

Spidey: "Easier said than done."

Tony: "After I'm in, the necessary tweaks will be made, and it **will** get done."

Spidey: "Than what? You'll run for president?"

Tony: "Aren't you sick of it? Humanity constantly **dicking** around with each other. We should be resolving our differences, standing together against a common threat like the Avengers were meant to. The real enemy, the **only** enemy that matters, (points to the sky) is out **there**. And we're gonna need all the help we can get. The Registration Act will help with recruiting new talent. In time, maybe, just maybe, we'll be ready. All of us. **Strong**. United… '_Together'_."

Spidey: "It's a beautiful dream. It'll just be a nightmare to get there."

Tony: "This is the first big step."

Spidey: "But ask yourself…will it be worth it?"

Tony: "…"

Spidey (grunts, turning away with his hands pressed against his head): "Man…I picked the absolute **worst** time to become an Avenger."

Tony: Listen… just imagine this: (rests an arm around the boy's shoulders) imagine a team, dozens of teams across all 50 states. Hell, we'll have guys patrolling oversees. Enhanced who are working round the clock, tackling super powered crime and saving people's lives. Enhanced who are properly trained and loyal. Who don't act outside the law, because they **are** the law."

Spidey (slides away): "And we'd have to answer to the government, I'm assuming. That's who we'd report to right? Because in **no** alternate universe would they **ever** let us run things. Training or no training, that's just a recipe for disaster. And even if we don't slip up, what makes you think the government won't? They never go corrupt, or have their own secret agendas? What do we do when they start sending us off to carry out their dirty work? Fight their wars? Take out their enemies? Registered will be obligated by law, by our oath, to follow their orders without question. If things get that bad, we'll probably rebel, rebel against the **State**. Think of the innocent casualties then."

Tony (walks passed him): "It won't come to that. I won't let it."

Spidey (turns to look at him): "How can you possibly promise that? And since when do take orders from anyone anyway? Unless…(realizes) _**you**_. You'll be the one giving the orders."

Tony (assures him): "Spider-Man, it's not like that."

Spidey: "Maybe not, but that's what it'll seem like to the others."

Spidey starts making his way over to the open window.

Spidey: "Listen…you almost had me. We want the same endgame, we do, but I'm just not seeing it- not like this. _I can't_. You're envisioning the bigger picture, the clean future. I'm worrying about the immediate aftereffects if this thing comes to pass. You want me on your side? All of us on your side? Meet back with those suits in congress as much as you have to, sweeten the deal. Then pitch me a better sell, because right now no way am I buying…I'm sorry Tony."

Tony (frustrated): "For Christ sake, this bill will save lives!"

Spidey (whips around): "And it'll ruin lives in the process!"

The young hero points over to the hologram display of the Superhuman Registration Act.

Spidey (strongly): "If this thing goes into effect, it will split you and Cap right down the middle. And I for one do not want to be caught in between you two."

Tony (loses his cool): "Why can't any of you people understand that I'm trying to do what's right here! Ever since I blasted out of that cave, it's all I've ever tried to do! From the very start, Pepper lost her shit when I first put on the suit. Then the team got up in arms over my attempt at a peace keeping program. Now you with this. It'll be a rocky road full of landmines, I get that. But it has to be done! I gotta do whatever it takes to make this world just a tiny bit less frightening. It doesn't take a genius to understand that!"

Spider-Man stares at his intensity. It's no use. He just hops onto the windowsill. Before leaping out onto the city below, he looks over his shoulder.

Spidey: "…You know for a _genius_, you're not very **smart**."

He drops out the open window. Spider-Man exits.  
Tony furiously swings arm across the table, knocking over all his tools and equipment on it. He grabs himself a prepped drink and slumps onto his chair. Exhales. Tony stares at the counter in front of him, staring into his Iron Man helmet positioned right in front of the important document. He contemplates the actions he might have to take, evaluating for himself if it will indeed be worth it…


	11. Death

**A/N: Note taken. No more script format. Back to how I normally write these.  
****So I got my laptop back. Good as new. And here is an idea I had for a while. Enjoy!**

* * *

The night was darker than most, and somehow the man without fear had picked up on that. He ran along the edge of a low rooftop, chasing his prey. Perhaps it was the extra cold air. The chilling temperature that foretold winter was not too far behind. This pairing of cold and dark always seemed to stroll through New York hand in hand.

The hunter pulled out his batons from their holster on his thigh. His controlled breaths puffed out as he counted in his head.

The frightened thug below hurried around the alley corner, only to meet a dead end. He was purposely chased into the tight area with no lights. The dark night completely cast over him as he cursed out repeatedly. He then heard someone stomp down right behind him. He turned around cautiously, his eyes trembling at the shadowy sight of a red figure. It might as well have been the devil through his petrified shock.

"Oh shit, not you too,"

The suited up warrior didn't give his words much of a second thought. Though he should have. Instead the Devil of Hell's Kitchen bashed a shaky hand away with one stick and shoved his other forearm into the thug's neck, slamming him against the brick wall. Amongst the shadows, the man didn't stand a chance. The devil his faced did not need vision to see.

"_**Fisk**_." Murdock growled. "How did he escape?"

"Please man, you gotta-"

"**How**!?" He slammed the criminal forcefully against the wall again, choking him with his forearm still pressed into his neck.

"You don't underst—" he gagged. "If you don't lemme go, he'll kill me!"

Murdock was puzzled for a split moment. It turned out this man wasn't running from him. Someone else was on the chase. Matt had just jumped onto the hot trail, thinking the lowlife had spotted him. But who was it that he was running from so terrifyingly so?

"Who? One of Fisk's assassins?"

He smelled the stinking fear sweating out of his pores.

"No…_worse_."

At that immediate instant, Matthew sensed an incoming danger, but it was too fast for him to do anything about it. It was as fast as a—

SPLAT!

Thick red and bits of bone splattered across the brick wall. A bullet had blown the petrified thug's head off. An excellent sniper shot.

Daredevil instinctively somersaulted to cover. He waited for a moment, wiping the blood that had gotten on and around his mouth. Concentrating his senses, he heard no further gunshots or even the clicks of reloading. But he did feel the fading vibrations of fleeting footsteps on a rooftop five blocks down. Murdock made his pursuit.

Climbing to the top of a fire escape, the fearless hero leaped onto the roof and sprinted across the wet surface with everything he had. Puddles splashed under his quick feet. Flipping through the air, he landed on the next building.

His Sniper was carrying heavy. It slowed him down. He heard the hefty boots thump their way along. Murdock would catch up in no time. The heartbeat was surprisingly steady though. Whoever this gunman was, he wasn't afraid.

Finally they reached a vacant construction sight. The unknown runner maneuvered through the cluttered area. He knew he was being chased.

Daredevil heard him about two floors above. He carried on the hunt, getting ever so close.

They were now on the same level. But the mystery man did not even try to shoot back. He certainly had the arsenal to do so, Murdock knew that much. He was packing seven different firearms. Identifying which specific kinds was difficult due to all the motion. But Matthew was able to make out the several amounts of knives and plenty of ammunition strapped along the man.

The superhuman pick up something sharp that was lying around.

The gunman looked over his shoulder. He saw the horns coming for him, but remained unfazed.

Nearing the edge dozens of stories up, the murderer picked up the pace. He grabbed onto something sturdy and swung himself onto the bundle of beams that wear left hanging on a giant crane. Hands to the steel surface, he took a second to balance himself, and then proceeded to dash across the beams. From there, he dropped onto the rooftop of a lower building.

Daredevil spun onto the beams held by the mechanical giraffe, and made his way to the low building with far more quickness and grace.

He was close enough and launched the sharp object in his hand. It pinned itself into the rooftop door that the man was just about to open to make his getaway. He looked at the blade that was centimeters from his face and grinned.

No weapons were in his hands, nor did he reach for any.

"Okay," he slightly lifted his hands up, implying surrender, and turned around, revealing a spray-painted skull on his bullet resistant vest. "You got me."

"Not very subtle." Murdock stood just a mere few feet away from him.

"You're one to talk." The fully strapped and loaded man set his hands down, eyeing the red and black armor-padded suit standing before him from head to toe.

Murdock could tell a few things right off the bat. He finally knew the exact models of the firearms the gunman was carrying. He knew that the man was older and bigger than him. He knew that he reeked of cigarettes and metal. Whether he worked for Fisk or not was still uncertain. But worst detail the masked hero of Hell's Kitchen knew from the jump was that this man had no fear either.

He did not fear the _Devil_. He welcomed death and carried out her work openly. Not just an executioner, but a brutal _punisher_. **The Punisher**.

To be continued…

* * *

**A/N: If the second part doesn't turn out too long, I'll just attach it onto this chapter later instead of leaving it at two.**


	12. Nightmare to Come: Pt 1

**A/N: This slight AU is a short 2-Parter set in a near future before the events that will occur in _Avengers: Infinity War_. Wanda and Vision are romantically involved. As far as my last chapter, _Death_, I'll finish it up completely and repost it around the time that Daredevil season 2 premieres.**

**Plot Synopsis: After the Civil War that nearly shattered the Avengers, Wanda has been losing sleep over another matter. She does not know what she is suffering from or why or what any of it means, she just wishes for it all to stop. Fortunately, there's a new character on the scene who just might be able to help.**

* * *

Stars. Twinkling ever so brightly throughout the darkness of the cosmos…

They then dimmed as the focus slowly dropped to a lone asteroid floating in the void of space. On its surface was a familiar sight of horror. The Avengers. All dead and scattered across the rock. All but one…the Scarlet Witch.

Fallen to her knees, she looked around at the carnage with a hopeless expression of silent dread. Suddenly the sound of a sharp, painful gasp snatched her attention. She was not the only one left—not yet.

It was her beloved Vision. His cape torn to shreds and android body damaged beyond possible repair. He was suspended into the air by his throat, having what little life he had left choked out by the unforgiving grip of a gold gauntlet. Wearing it was the cause of all this savage death. Vision was at mercy of a m_ad titan_.

Wanda wanted oh so desperately to intervene, but she hadn't any strength left. All she could do was bear awful witness with tears building up in her eyes. The monster grinned like the maniacal fiend he was, and reached for the glowing yellow gem with his other hand. Wanda screamed out, "NO," but that only pleased the villain ever more.

Vision's head jerked about violently with sparks shooting out as the Mind Stone was brutally ripped right out of him. When finished with, the lifeless android was tossed aside. He dropped to the Scarlet Witch like a ragdoll. The unstoppable titan lifted the precious gem before his very eyes, marveling at his grand accomplishment.

Wanda held the battered corpse of her love over her lap. She wept and she wept without stop. Her friends and loved ones, everything that she had left was lost. The nightmare of it all sunk into her tortured soul. She looked up at the stars. They washed over in blood red, darkening all beneath them. The titan burst into a deep laughter while Wanda let out one last hopeless scream. Her agony echoed throughout the empty void of the entire cosmos.

* * *

"AAHHHH!" Maximoff shot up, sitting upright on her bed. She panted excessively and was sweating profusely.

"Wanda!" Vision phased through the door of her bedroom. "What's wrong?"

Her traumatized eyes stared around at nothing, until they finally fixated on her love as he took his seat beside her on the mattress. For a split millisecond, her lips smiled at the dawning realization that he was alive and fully well. The yellow gem still glowed strongly on the center of his forehead.

"I…I…" Without being able to help it, she began to cry as she fell into his comforting embrace. She wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, never wanting to lose him in the realm of reality.

"Same nightmare?" He brushed his gentle hand through her long hair.

She collected herself the best she could, resting her cheek onto his chest.

"It's more awful every time…"

"We should seek help."

She felt safe in his arms, but even _he_ could not protect her from these reoccurring night terrors.

"From who?" She sniffed her reddened nose, "Who can possibly help me?"

_~To Be Continued...~_


	13. Nightmare to Come: Pt 2

**A/N: A shorter, more concise version of this would make for a great post credit scene. Since this is set after the events of _Civil War_, I kept certain details vague, because I don't know exactly what will go down in that movie. None of us have seen it. But I'm pretty sure that Cap won't die. Oh yeah, this also takes place after another Marvel movie that you will all know right away as soon as you start reading hahh. That being said, enjoy!**

**Plot Synopsis: After the Civil War that nearly shattered the Avengers, Wanda has been losing sleep over another matter. She does not know why these vivid nightmares keep reoccurring, or what any of it means. She just wishes for it all to stop. Fortunately, there's a new character on the scene who just might be able to help.**

* * *

"Thank you for heading my call, Captain."

"I'd be a fool to ignore your concerns."

At an undisclosed location, Steve Rogers walked his guest down the halls of an old hideout.

"I heard stories of what you did. Congratulations on the title of Supreme. Pretty sure that rank far exceeds my own."

The Doctor nodded humbly, "Much appreciated, especially coming from a man such as yourself." He wore well-fitted, formal attire instead of his sacred robes, and had his hair nicely combed back. "Your tales of heroics have preserved their marks in history." Strange then glanced around at the interior design. It was not at all as prestigious or as high-tech as any of their previous bases, but it held up just alright with a homey feel. "But I see that hard times have come to us all."

"We took a…" Steve thought of Tony for a brief moment, "…hit. But we're managing with what we have. World still needs saving."

The Sorcerer Supreme heard all about the Avenger's _civil war_. How could he had not? It was world-wide news.

"I'm sorry about what happened, Captain." He spoke sincerely. "Things may never be as they once were, but perhaps, in time, you all can find a way to move forward."

"Yeah, maybe…" He stared off, feeling the weight of all the tough decisions he had made recently. He then brought his focus back on Strange, because he'd rather not think about Tony right now or any time soon. "But about your visit."

"Right." Stephen read his body language and felt his vibes. He fully understand, and would not prolong this personal subject. "Onto the matter at hand."

The two arrived at the lobby entrance. Cap leaned against the corner of the wall as Strange stood beside him. They looked over at the person of discussion.

"So how bad is she?" Cap asked.

Wanda Maximoff was sitting on the long couch with one leg tucked beneath the other, her elbow resting on one of the back pillows as she nipped at her black-painted nails. Young Peter Parker hopped on next to her. His sneakers sunk into the cushion as he remained in a crouching position that was comfortable to him. She began laughing at something he was showing her on his phone.

Strange and Rogers kept observing as they continued their talk.

"Nothing is necessarily _wrong_ with her, but she has been through a lot. You do not have my eyes, but I can see the immense power coursing through her. Magic is strong in Miss Maximoff. If left unchecked, unguided, I fear the consequences may be catastrophic. The likes of which we've never seen."

They heard snippets of a dumb little back and forth between the youngsters on the couch.

"No! You can't do that." Peter exclaimed.

Wanda giggling, "What?"

"_That_! That thing you do with your hands when you turn on your Maximoff powers." He proceeded to make his signature hand gesture; the same sign he always makes when shooting his webs. "_This!_"

"I do not do that!" She pretended to sound offended. "I do this." She made a more graceful movement with her wrist and fingers.

"Hey!" He pulled her hand down, making her throw her head up in laughter. "That's exactly what I'm talking about."

"It is not!"

"Is too! My thing. _Mine_." He pointed his finger at her. "I'll sue you. I know a really good lawyer."

She just kept laughing adorably, and slapping her hand onto his arm. Peter began chuckling as well. He loved making people laugh, especially those who could use a little uplifting.

Rogers shook his head at the Doctor's warning. He believed him, but just could not figure out how Hydra managed to give her such power. "_Hydra_ did this?"

"I have a theory on that. Her brother's case may have been different, but I don't believe the harsh experiments gave Wanda her abilities. I believe they _unlocked_ them."

Steve looked at Strange with a strong expression that masked his worry. "And what's your recommendation, Doctor?"

"Allow her to come to the Sanctum Sanctorum. I can be her teacher. I will show her how to channel her power; help her control it, not let it consume her."

The plan sounded solid to Rogers, but ultimately it was not up to him.

He looked back onto Wanda. "I can't think of anyone more qualified to help her than you."

"Thank you, Captain."

"Don't thank me just yet. It's her decision to make, not mine."

He led the Doctor into the lobby. The two friends on the couch looked over at their leader approaching with his guest. The stranger walked smoothly with a calm expression and his hands folded behind his back.

Cap stood before the young woman. "Wanda, there's someone very important I'd like you to meet."

She looked up at Strange with her big, colorful eyes.

He gave her a kind smile. "Pleasure to meet you, Miss Maximoff."

* * *

Later, Wanda was walking Dr. Strange to her room. He had given her the rundown of the reason behind his visit. They stopped at the door.

"So, an _apprenticeship_?" She grabbed the keys from her back pocket to unlock the door.

"Quite so, yes." He graciously stepped into the room after being invited in.

Wanda closed the door behind them. "It sounds like an amazing opportunity, but…I'm not sure yet."

"Oh no, of course. Do take your time to ponder the offer." He looked around the room, finding it unique and marvelous with the choice of paintings and other decorations all along the walls. "Lovely room, by the way."

It was as spacious as a small apartment. She had a bathroom and even her own kitchen off in the corner.

"Thank you. I never really grew up with much, so I just sort of pick everything. I'm not used to having so many options." She took off her jacket and moved towards the kitchen.

"I see." He continued admiring the room. He examined the little statues and figurines along the counter with fascination. "I was actually the opposite growing up. It wasn't until I lost everything that I learned humility, and then began to appreciate the little things." He lightly scratched at a small, elegantly crafted dragon.

"We all learn sooner or later. Can I get you anything? Coffee? Tea?"

"Tea would be excellent. Any kind you have. Thank you." He walked over to the fine dining table. "May I?"

She looked over as she was preparing the tea. "Oh, yes. Go ahead."

He took his seat.

Wanda made her way around with the two warm drinks in her hands. "Forgive me for asking..."

"Oh, not at all. Feel free to ask me anything."

She handed him his drink. He thanked her. The host then took her seat beside him.

"It's just—normally when I meet people I can, even without meaning to, I—uh…how do I ask this?"

He smiled after taking a sip. "You're wondering why you can't see into my mind."

She chuckled embarrassingly, "Yes, yes I…I find it a bit…" she tried to find another word for—

"_Strange_?" He amused himself.

"Odd." She smiled. "Why is that?"

"I'm well-versed in the mystic arts. Trained for facing powerful minds such as telepaths, and even against more _mindless ones_." He enjoyed another sip. "Exceptional by the way."

"Thank you." She said shyly.

"In fact, under my guidance, you too will be well-versed in our ways. In time, you might even succeed me as _Sorceress_. Wouldn't that be something?"

"I don't even know what exactly it is you do."

"That's why I would teach you."

"Would I have to leave everything behind? Everyone I know?" She thought of Vision.

He nodded. "At first. But it wouldn't be forever. I'm not taking you away from all that you know and love. You'd still be able to come visit your friends and join your team whenever they need you. The only drastic change is that you'd be staying with us, that's all."

"Then…why now? Why come find me now?"

"Miss Maximoff, I've only just recently come into my own. I wasn't aware of your existence prior hand."

"Oh…"

He set his tea to the side. "But now that I have been granted this title and all that comes with it…there is something that troubles me."

"What's that?" She was starting to worry.

"You tell me. Your powers seem to spike dramatically with your emotions. It's impossible for me to not sense it. So please, do share, Miss Maximoff, has anything been troubling _you_ as of late?"

She stared down into her cup. "Well I…I've been having this nightmares."

"What kind of nightmares?" He looked at her shaken eyes with all his attention.

"It's…it's better if I show you."

"...very well." He closed his eyes and slightly lowered his head, allowing her consent.

Wanda leaned in and raised her hand up to his temple. With the subtlest twitch of a finger, her red aura flowed onto Stephen.

He felt her power. It was unique and _dark_, but not dark in the evil sense. It was more of a reflection of her soul: saddened, tortured, and yet strong enough to keep fighting.

Upon hearing heavy thuds hit the ground, Dr. Strange opened his eyes. The entire room had transformed into darkness and stars. He stood on hunk of rock, floating in the void of space. Wanda stood beside him. They met gazes. She then looked away from the horror as Strange went on to witness it for the very first time.

His eyes gaped wide open, and his voice shuddered. He saw it all. The fallen Avengers, the death of Vision, and worst of all…the Mad Titan standing victorious. He then heard Wanda's scream, but not the Wanda beside him. The one on the ground, lamenting over her dead lover; lamenting over her dead comrades; lamenting over the terrifying fact that all was lost. Her deafening scream brought heartbreaking agony to Strange's soul. Then came the deep laughter. Oh god, that villain's laugh was more than enough to strike fear into the hearts of the bravest of warriors.

"Wanda…please…" He uttered.

The real Wanda wiped a tear away and did as he wanted. Her hands enveloped in her aura as she peeled away this horrible nightmare.

Stephen Strange found himself back in reality, sitting it the very same chair at the very same table. The lights above him were back to normal as was everything else. He was speechless.

"Still think you can help me?" Her sad eyes stayed glued to the surface of the table.

The Doctor swallowed hard to collect himself. "I know I can. Though it will not be easy."

"Nothing ever is." She cupped her drink, watching as the steam faded away into the air. "This nightmare…every time it seems more and more real. It's like what I showed Stark, except…worse. Is this some form of punishment for my sins of the past?"

"I'm afraid not. This is something else entirely." He rubbed his forehead and went silent for a brief moment to think over what he had seen. "That _thing_. The one whom did the slaughtering. Did you know him?"

"No. I've never seen anything like that in my life. I was hoping you would've."

"Never in my experience. But I am familiar with the gem he was holding."

Wanda's gaze darted up to his. "You know of them?"

"Well enough to know how dangerous they each are. This monster, whoever he is, had somehow possessed them all."

"I didn't even notice that."

"They were placed on the gauntlet he had on. The death and destruction one can bring with that much infinite power is…" He stared off dreadfully. "I don't even want to imagine."

"What does it all mean?"

"Just from what you shared. What I felt…" He looked into her worried eyes, warning gravely. "I believe it means something beyond awful is coming our way."

"Why _me_? Why am _I_ the one seeing this? This..._premonition._"

"I do not know." He gaze drifted down. "Perhaps you will have a role to play in the events yet to unfold…I fear we all will…"

Wanda's eyes shifted in troubled thought. Then, they settled into fierce determination.

She stood tall.

"I'll do it. I'll train with you. Whatever it takes to prevent this terrible nightmare from ever coming true, or at least…to be ready for it."

The Doctor could not help but admire her inner strength when faced with such imminent danger. He stood with her. Folding his hands behind his back, he bowed his head to her.

"Miss Maximoff, pack your essentials, say your farewells, and enjoy your nights to their fullest, for I will return for you by this week's end. Then…we will begin your training."

She nodded in understanding. There was fire burning in her eyes, and the Doctor saw it; he saw her hunger to learn. She would make an excellent protege.

The Scarlet Witch would soon be off on her journey to train under the Sorcerer Supreme.

_~End~_

* * *

**A/N: I really really want Wanda to be the main secondary character in the sequel to _Doctor Strange_, sort of like how Black Widow was in _CATWS_. It makes perfect sense and would be so amazing. Her learning how to use and enhance her magic abilities under Strange's teachings; Them teaming up for a crazy, mystic adventure; Scarlet Witch and the Sorcerer Supreme, back-to-back, fighting off waves of enemies in the climatic finale. UGH! Make it happen Marvel!**


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